LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

GIFT   OF 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October;  1894. 
Accessions  No.y^/SVj  .      Class  No. 


*ir^ 


^»sE*g-Jc?£>"jr> 


V. 


'4^   0?  XEDB        • 

[UJsrivsisiT 


m 


mpi 


■HHH 


Engraved  fcFruitedat  J:M.Butierk  Esta.'Mislnn 


THE 


ihht\  Sc|dM  Catjrcr; 


DESIGNED  TO  AID  HJ 


ELEVATING  AND  PERFECTING 

THE  >  ' 

SABBATH  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 


BY  JOHN  TODD,  D.D., 

AUTHOR  OF  "  LECTURES  TO  CHILDREN,"  "  STUDENT'S 
MANUAL,"  ETC. 


author's    edition. 


NORTHAMPTON,  MASS: 
HOPKINS,    BRIDGMAN    &    CO 

PHILADELPHIA :  H.  COWPERTHWAIT  &  CO. 

CINCINNATI:  MOORE,  WILSTACH,  KEYS  &  CO. 

1856. 


*&qL 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1856,  by 

HOPKINS,  BEIDGMAN  &  Co., 

In  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


PREFACE 

TO  THE  AUTHOR'S  EDITION. 


Few  things  strike  the  Christian  traveller  with  more 
force  than  the  fact,  that  let  him  go  where  he  will,  the  Sab- 
bath School  has  gone  before  him,  and  meets  him  on  his 
arrival.  The  Church  of  God,  however  her  separate 
branches  may  differ  on  small  unefsentials,  has  come  to  the 
firm  conviction,  that  this  is  a  mighty  inftrumentality, 
which  she  cannot  forego  without  heavy  lofs,  and  which  she 
cannot  faithfully  use  without  great  succefs.  And  this  suc- 
cefs,  like  everything  else  that  is  valuable,  must  be  the  child 
of  patient  toil  and  earnest  effort.  The  whole  plan  of  God 
in  redeeming,  enlightening,  and  training  men  up  for  heaven, 
involves  individual  responsibility  and  individual  labor. 

Were  it  in  my  power  to  mark  out  a  plan  for  a  Sab- 
bath School,  which  would  promise  great  success  with  little 
or  no  labor  and  anxious  responsibility,  my  little  book 
would  be  hailed  through  the  world  as  a  great  benefaftor. 
This  I  cannot  do.  I  know  of  no  way  to  rear  a  beautiful 
flower,  or  a  fruit-bearing  tree,  but  by  careful  planting,  till- 
(8) 


4  PREFACE    TO    THE    AUTHOR'S    EDITION. 

ing,  and  training.  I  have  not,  in  this  unpretending  vol- 
ume, undertaken  to  diminiih  labor ;  but  to  show  how  it 
may  be  most  available.  Not  how  the  tree,  full  grown, 
may  spring  from  the  ground,  at  the  touch  of  the  teacher's 
wand ;  but  how  he  may  plant  the  seed,  and  watch  its  growth, 
and  rear  it  to  be  a  tree,  that  shall  eternally  grow  in  the 
garden  of  the  Lord. 

The  author  cannot  feel  too  thankful  that  this  little  work 
has  found  so  much  favor  on  the  other  side  of 
the  waters,  and  has  pafsed  through  so  many  editions.  It 
is  iiow  reduced  in  size  and  price,  and  sent  forth  again  into 
the  world,  with  the  hope  that  many  will  find  in  it  hints 
that  will  aid  them,  or  facts  that  will  encourage  them  to 
rely  on  the  great  promise,  "  In  due  season  we  shall  reap,  if 
we  faint  not." 

PiTTSFiELD,  March,  1856. 


CONTENTS. 


Chap.  I.  —  First  principles  in  Christian  Education. 

Chap.  II.  —  Superintendent  —  Character  and  Duties. 

Chap.  III.  —  Qualifications  of  a  Good  Teacher. 

Chap.  IV. —  Other  means  of  Doing  Good  besides  Teaching. 

Chap.  V.  —  Acquiring  Information  in  order  to  Teach.    • 

Chap.  VI.  —  Communicating  Religious  Instruction. 

Chap.  VII.  — Infant  Sabbath  Schools. 

Chap.  Vm.  — Singing  in  the  Sabbath  School. 

Chap.  IX. —  Connection  of  the  Missionary  Cause  with  the 

Sabbath  School. 
Chap.  X.  —  Duty    of    the    Church    and    Pastor   to   the 

Sabbath  School. 
Chap.  XL — Encouragement  to  Faithfulness. 

(5) 


THE 


SABBATH   SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


CHAPTER  L 

FIRST  PRINCIPLES  IN  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION. 

In  every  science,  and  in  every  department  of  know- 
ledge, there  are  certain  points,  or  what  may  be  called 
First  Principles,  which  must  be  definitely  understood, 
and  which  must  be  used  as  starting-points  by  all  who 
would  succeed.  These  are  not  theories  which  each 
one  adopts  for  himself,  but  they  are  discoveries  of  the 
combined  wisdom  and  experience  of  all  who  have 
examined  the  ground.  Some  of  these  first  principles 
I  wish  to  present  to  the  Sabbath  School  teacher.  I 
take  pains  to  present  these  clearly  and  distinctly,  be- 
cause I  deem  them  of  great  importance. 

1.  Lay  it  down  as  a  first  principle  in  Christian  edu- 
cation, that  the  first  object  of  the  teacher  is  to  form 
right  habits  in  the  scholar. 

Were  you  to  give  the  most  solemn  and  impressive 
instruction  possible,  to  a  company  just  as  they  were 
about  going  into  the  theatre,  it  would  do  no  good. 
The  impressions  would  all  be  gone  in  an  hour,  and 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


First  principles— right  habits.    Experience  of  men.    Amount  of  knowledge. 

other  and  deeper  impressions  would  take  their  place. 
The  same  feelings  awakened  in  an  audience  who 
were  in  the  habit  of  daily  prayer,  would  be  likely  to 
abide,  and  to  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  eternal  life. 
Those  children  who  are  prodigies  of  learning  and  at- 
tainment in  early  life,  often  prove  to  be  very  ordinary 
men ;  and  the  surprise  is,  that  a  tree  so  full  of  blos- 
soms should  produce  so  little  fruit;  while,  in  other 
cases,  a  child  giving  but  faint  promise  of  mind,  in 
early  life,  frequently  becomes  great,  and  wise,  and 
good,  in  mature  years.  This  difference  is  not  merely 
to  be  attributed  to  the  slowness  with  which  these 
minds  were  developed,  but  to  the  habits  formed  in 
early  life.  A  child  may  acquire  thought  slowly,  yet 
if  he  has  formed  the  habit  of  acquiring  each  thought 
fully  and  distinctly,  and  of  retaining  it  when  acquired, 
he  will  eventually  become  a  wise  man.  On  the  other 
hand,  that  boy  so  bright  before  you  now,  who  com- 
mits to  memory  so  readily,  or  who  is  so  prompt  in 
undersanding  and  so  quick  in  answering  your  ques- 
tions, may  be  forming  habits  which  will  more  than 
destroy  all  that  he  now  obtains.  All  great  men  have 
attributed  their  success  more  to  the  mental  and 
moral  habits  acquired  in  early  life,  than  to  any  thing 
else.  Even  the  temper, — the  disposition,  is  formed  by 
acquired  habits,  so  that  one  who  is  naturally  irrita- 
ble, may  become  a  calm  man. 

Let  it  be  impressed  on  the  mind  of  the  teacher, 
that  it  is  not  so  much  the  amount  of  knowledge  which 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Illustrated  by  the  orphan.  Want  of  right  habits  lamented. 


you  communicate  to  each  scholar,  that  is  to  make 
your  teaching  a  blessing,  as  are  the  habits  which  you 
aid  him  in  acquiring. 

He  may  or  may  not  have  gone  over  much  ground, 
— but  has  he  subdued  it  ?  Have  you  created  in  him 
a  taste  for  patient  thought  and  investigation,  till  he 
has  thoroughly  understood  every  idea,  and  mastered 
every  subject  presented  1  Here  was  one  great  error 
in  the  old  system  of  committing  an  amazing  amount 
to  memory,  when  the  child  was  praised  or  blamed 
according  to  his  success  or  want  of  success  in  loading 
the  memory. 

You  will  frequently  meet  with  a  man  who  in  early 
life  was  left  an  orphan.  You  see  that  he  has  risen 
up  from  obscurity,  through  difficulties  and  trials,  till 
he  has  become  successful  in  his  pursuits.  The  facts, 
on  investigation,  would  be  found  to  be,  that  on  being 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources  in  early  life,  he  was 
compelled  to  form  habits  of  sober  thought,  of  prudence, 
foresight,  economy,  and  diligence,  which  in  more  in- 
dulgent circumstances  he  could  not  have  acquired. 
These  habits  made  the  man.  And  it  is  of  unspeaka- 
ble importance  that  the  child  now  under  your  care 
form  right  habits.  Do  you  not  yourself  daily  lament 
that  you  have  some  wrong  habits  hanging  about  you 
which  you  acquired  in  childhood  ?  I  have  not  unfre- 
quently  met  with  men  who  would  readily  acknowledge 
that  thousands  of  money  would  be  no  object,  could 
they,  with  it,  purchase  such  habits,  mental  and  moral, 


10        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Necessary  to  meet  temptations.       Example  of  Daniel.      Perseverance. 

as   might  and  ought  to  have   been   formed   in   the 
days  of  childhood. 

It  ought  never  to  be  forgotten,  that  right  habits  are 
indispensably  necessary  to  enable  a  child,  or  even  a 
man,  to  meet  and  resist  temptation.  Piety  and  cou- 
rage were  prominent  in  the  character  of  Daniel ;  but 
after  all,  I  should  tremble  to  place  any  man  in  his 
circumstances,  with  the  lion's  den  before  him,  who 
had  not  Daniel's  habit  of  daily  prayer.  "  The  man," 
says  the  venerated  Porter,  "  who  is  so  much  the  slave 
of  circumstances  in  common  affairs  as  to  forego  his 
regular  food,  and  exercise,  and  rest,  may  live,  but 
cannot  enjoy  life ;  he  cannot  for  any  length  of  time 
possess  vigorous  health  of  body.  He  who  has  so  little 
firmness  of  religious  principle  as  to  intermit  his  regu- 
lar, secret  devotions,  from  indolence  or  hurry,  or  com- 
plaisance to  friends,  may  be  a  Christian  still,  perhaps 
in  a  state  of  temporary  but  woful  backsliding.  But 
certainly  he  is  not  a  decided,  consistent  Christian.  He 
does  not  "  keep  his  own  heart  with  all  diligence."  He 
is  not  prepared  for  his  upward  flight  to  live  in  heaven, 
like  Enoch,  who  "  walked  with  God."  Nor  yet  is  he 
prepared  to  live  in  Babylon,  like  Daniel,  who  "  kneel- 
ed upon  his  knees  three  times  in  a  day,  and  prayed 
and  gave  thanks."  The  habits  so  beautifully  described 
above,  are  as  essential  to  the  well-being  of  the  child, 
as  to  the  man  and  the  Christian. 

The  habit  of  perseverance  should  be  cultivated 
with  unremitting  assiduity.     It  is  what  every  child, 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  11 


Curious  illustration. 


and  I  may  add,  every  teacher,  needs.  The  habit, 
once  acquired,  is  invaluable,  though  exceedingly 
difficult  to  be  attained.  Take  every  method  to  en- 
courage  the  child,  and  to  show  him  the  possibility  of 
producing  very  great  changes  from  slight  beginnings. 
I  cannot  better  illustrate  this  point  than  by  telling  the 
short  story,  from  the  London  Quarterly  Review,  as 
related  by  Lochman.  *  A  Visier,  having  offended  his 
master,  was  compelled  to  perpetual  captivity  in  a 
lofty  tower.  At  night  his  wife  came  to  weep  below 
his  window.  "  Cease  your  grief,"  said  the  sage,  "  go 
home  for  the  present,  and  return  hither  when  you 
have  procured  a  live,  black  beetle,  together  with  a 
little  ghee,  (or  buffalo's  butter),  three  clews, — one  of 
the  finest  silk,  another  of  stout  pack-thread,  and 
another  of  whip-cord ;  finally  a  stout  coil  of  rope." 
When  she  again  came  to  the  foot  of  the  tower,  pro- 
vided according  to  her  husband's  commands,  he  di- 
rected her  to  touch  the  head  of  the  insect  with  a  lit- 
tle of  the  ghee,  to  tie  one  end  of  the  silk  thread 
around  him,  and  to  place  the  reptile  on  the  wall  of 
the  tower.  Seduced  by  the  smell  of  the  butter, 
which  he  conceived  to  be  in  store  somewhere  above 
him,  the  beetle  continued  to  ascend  till  he  reached 
the  top,  and  thus  put  the  Visier  in  possession  of  the 
roll  of  silk-thread.  He  then  drew  up  the  pack-thread 
by  means  of  the  silk; — the  small  cord  by  means  of 
the  pack-thread,  and  by  means  of  the  cord,  a  stout 


12        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Second  principle— fixed  principles.  Taste  of  the  age. 

rope  capable  of  sustaining  his  own  weight, — and  thus 
he  escaped  from  the  tower.' 

2.  That  the  teacher  should  endeavor  to  fix  the 
great  principles  of  God's  truth  in  the  mind  of  the  child. 

What  I  mean  by  this,  is,  that  while  you  lead  the 
child  to  commit  to  memory,  do  not  fear  that  he  can- 
not be  made  to  comprehend  and  embrace  the  great 
principles  of  revealed  religion.  The  fashions,  the 
plans,  I  had  almost  said,  the  rage  of  the  present  day, 
is  to  bring  every  thing  in  mechanics,  literature, 
morals,  and  religion,  down  to  the  test  of  present 
effect,  and  present  apparent  good.  As  if  God  had 
not  wisely  ordained  that  good  shall  always  flow  from 
the  embracing  great,  fixed  principles.  We  feel  that 
it  is  a  loss  of  time  to  pause  long  enough  to  give  or 
receive  deep,  solid  instruction,  or  to  endure  the  task 
of  thinking.  How  difficult  to  get  men  to  sit  down 
and  read  a  sober,  original,  deep  book !  Our  ideas 
must  all  be  thought  out  for  us,  and  poured  into  the 
ear  just  as  a  song  would  be.  In  our  preachers,  we 
demand  men  who  have  popular  talents, — who  can 
electrify,  lighten  and  thunder,  sweep  like  a  whirl- 
wind, carrying  men  into  the  kingdom  by  violence  and 
before  they  know  it,  and  move  them  on  in  the  growth 
of  grace  by  successions  of  powerful  impulses.  Our 
teachers  must  be  men  of  popular  address,  with  the 
power  of  communicating  knowledge,  which  can  be 
obtained  in  the  least  possible  time,  and  at  once  be 
applied  to  use. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  13 

Dangers  of  the  times.  Should  Catechisms  be  used  ?  Public  opinion. 

As  if  men,  in  this  agitated  state  of  the  world,  could 
come  up  amid  the  rockings  and  the  storms  of  the 
age,  without  deep,  fixed  principles  for  a  sheet-anchor. 
The  waves  of  excitement  already  run  high,  and  will 
run  still  higher ;  and  he  who  acts  as  a  teacher  in  the 
theological  School,  or  as  an  author,  as  a  teacher  in 
the  day  or  Sabbath  School,  who  does  not  try  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  character  on  fixed,  definite  prin- 
ciples, even  the  everlasting  foundations  of  truth,  falls 
far  short  of  his  duty.  You  might  as  well  neglect  to 
place  anchors  in  the  bow  of  your  ship,  as  you  send 
her  from  her  moorings,  because  she  does  not  now 
need  them,  as  to  neglect  to  fix  deep  and  definite 
principles  in  the  mind  of  the  child,  because  he  has 
not  immediate  use  for  them. 

This  leads  me  to  take  this  opportunity  to  answer 
the  question  so  frequently  asked  in  Sabbath  Schools, 
is  it  best  to  teach  Catechisms  in  these  schools  ? 

Till  within  a  short  time,  Catechisms  of  all  kinds 
have  nearly  been  proscribed  in  most  of  our  schools, 
and  the  impression  seemed  to  be  gaining  ground,  that 
they  were  to  be  laid  aside  with  the  rubbish  of  other 
times,  with  things  and  modes,  good,  perhaps  in  their 
day,  but  not  adapted  to  the  day  in  which  we  live. 
The  objections  seem  to  be,  that  the  memory  alone  is 
cultivated  by  learning  catechisms ;  that  the  child  can- 
not understand  them,  and  that  they  are  sectarian  in 
their  tendency. 

After  looking  at  this  subject  long,  and  in  various 
2 


14  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Answer  to  objections.  How  to  teach  Catechisms. 

lights,  I  am  not  altogether  certain  that  these  objec- 
tions are  not  directed  chiefly,  if  not  solely,  against 
the  Assembly's  Shorter  Catechism ;  and  that  a  sort 
of  tacit  compromise  has  not  been  made,  that  all  cate- 
chisms should  be  laid  aside  for  the  sake  of  getting 
rid  of  that. 

In  regard  to  the  two  first  objections,  I  believe  they 
may  be  reduced  to  one  and  the  same :  viz.,  that  the 
memory  is  burdened,  because  the  child  does  not  com- 
prehend what  he  tries  to  learn.  The  answer  to  these 
objections,  is  two-fold.  First,  that  it  is  one  very  im- 
portant part  of  education  to  exercise  and  cultivate 
the  memory;  and  few  things  will  do  it  better  or 
faster  than  the  Catechism.  Secondly,  that  it  is  not 
true  that  the  child  cannot  be  made  to  understand  the 
Catechism.  Till  within  a  few  years  it  was  thought 
that  a  mere  child  could  not  be  made  to  understand 
Arithmetic,  Grammar,  or  Geometry.  He  was  told 
to  commit  the  rules  to  memory,  to  be  applied  to  use 
at  some  future  time.  But  all  this  is  justly  exploded. 
The  child  of  six  years  old,  can  now  be  taught  Arith- 
metic on  the  plan  of  Colburn.  It  is  only  the  substi- 
tution of  things,  for  the  signs  of  things.  I  do  not 
believe  there  is  any  greater  difficulty  in  teaching  a 
Catechism,  than  in  teaching  many  parts  of  the  Bible. 
The  book  of  Romans,  for  example,  is  a  very  difficult 
part  of  the  Bible;  and  yet  I  have  never  seen  a 
school  more  interested  in  any  study,  than  in  this 
book.     The  great  obstacle  with  which  I  have  met, 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.        15 


Mrs.  Sherwood.    Assembly's  Catechism.    Third  principle— power  of  example. 

has  been,  that  the  teachers  seemed  to  make  up  their 
minds  that  the  Catechism  must  be  difficult  to 
teach,  and  thus  made  it  difficult  But  let  any  one 
begin  and  proceed  just  on  the  plan  of  Colburn's 
Arithmetic,  and  I  will  warrant  success  and  pleasure. 
Let  any  one  read  Mrs.  Sherwood's  beautiful  stories 
on  the  Church  Catechism,  and  he  will  be  satisfied 
that  even  catechisms  can  be  made  bewitchingly 
interesting.  The  man  who  shall  make  the  Shorter 
Catechism  equally  interesting,  will  do  a  great  work 
for  his  fellow-men.* 

Then  as  as  to  their  being  sectarian, — if  this  be  so, 
let  each  sect  select  its  own  catechism.  While  I 
frankly  say  that  I  prefer  the  Assembly's  Catechism 
before  any  other,  and,  indeed,  before  any  other  unin- 
spired compendium  of  revealed  religion,  I  should 
indeed  sink  low  in  my  own  estimation,  did  I  not  feel 
willing  that  every  one  should  enjoy  the  same  liberty 
of  choosing ;  and  I  trust  I  should  love  no  one  the  less 
for  the  exercise  of  such  a  right.  Perhaps  those  schools 
which  have  the  Catechism  taught  in  short  lessons 
once  a  month,  are  wise  in  their  course ;  for  it  ought 
not  to  be  taught  every  Sabbath. 

3.  A  process  of  education,  from  example,  is  con- 
tinually going  on  in  the  mind  of  every  child. 

*  By  the  experiment  of  delivering  a  few  lectures  on  the 
Shorter  Catechism,  I  am  satisfied  that  it  may  be  brought  down 
to  the  comprehension  of  every  person,  though  I  had  many 
doubts  wliea  I  commenced. 


16  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Example  of  a  real  Christian. 


The  parent  who  supposes  the  few  lessons  of  instruc- 
tion which  he  bestows  upon  his  child,  constitute  any 
considerable  part  of  the  education  of  that  child,  is 
greatly  mistaken.  The  child  is  at  play  in  the  corner 
of  the  room,  with  his  blocks  or  his  toys,  and  the  pa- 
rents are  talking  together  without  heeding  him.  But 
ever  now  and  then  the  little  prattler  stops  talking  to 
himself  to  catch  the  tones  and  thoughts  of  his  parents, 
and  he  is  there  receiving  impressions  which  form  his 
character,  and  which  will  abide  with  him  through 
life.  It  is  on  this  principle  that  example  is  so  power- 
ful a  teacher ;  and  that  a  real  Christian  can  do  so 
much  for  his  Master.  "  God  has  not  permitted  the 
world  to  despise  a  true  Christian ;  they  may  pass  by 
him  with  a  haughty  and  supercilious  coldness,  they 
may  deride  him  with  a  taunting  and  sarcastic  irony ; 
but  the  spirit  of  the  proudest  man  that  ever  lived  will 
bend  before  the  grandeur  of  a  Christian's  humility. 
You  are  at  once  awed,  and  you  recoil  upon  your 
own  conscience,  when  you  meet  with  one  whose  feel- 
ings have  been  purified  by  the  Gospel.  The  light  of 
a  Christian's  soul,  when  it  shines  into  the  dark  den 
of  a  worldly  heart,  startles  and  alarms  the  gloomy 
passions  that  are  brooding  within.  Is  this  contempt  ? 
No:  but  all  the  virulence  which  is  excited  by  the 
Christian  graces  can  be  resolved  into  envy — the  feel- 
ings of  devils  when  they  think  on  the  pure  happiness 
of  angels ;  and  to  complete  their  confusion,  what  is 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  17 

Watching  over  example.  Teachers  watched. 

that  moment  the  feeling  in  the  Christian's  heart? 
Pity,  most  unfeigned  pity." 

Those  influences  hardly  noticed  or  thought  of,  the 
every-day  acts  of  parents,  and  teachers,  a  word,  or  a 
look  even,  may  permanently  and  mightily  influence 
the  character  of  the  child.  What  then  1  Must  we 
so  reverence  that  little  one,  as  to  be  always  subject  to 
painful  restraint  and  anxiety  in  his  presence  1  The 
little  mimic  would  be  sure,  in  that  case,  to  "  catch 
the  truth"  of  concealment,  and  would  never  grow  up 
with  an  open  countenance,  or  an  ingenuous  mind. 
There  is  no  way  but  to  be,  habitually  and  perma- 
nently, such  as  the  child  ought  to  see  you  appear. 
You  must  be  in  the  law  of  justice,  truth,  love,  holi- 
ness ;  not  under  it.  It  must  be  the  perfect  law  of 
liberty  to  you ;  so  as  to  manifest  its  presence,  not  as 
an  outward,  restraining  power,  but  as  an  inward, 
well-spring,  whose  waters  flow  out  freshly  and  plea- 
santly in  all  the  channels  of  social  life  and  Christian 
duty.'  A  teacher  who  has  not  carefully  noticed  the 
fact,  will  be  surprised  to  find  how  narrowly  he  is 
watched,  how  every  part  of  his  character,  and  almost 
every  habit  of  his,  becomes  a  part  of  his  pupil's.  You 
will  frequently  see  a  class  eyeing  their  teacher  as  he 
delivers  an  exhortation,  or  tries  to  impress  a  truth  of 
great  importance  upon  them,  just  as  a  child  will  eye 
a  father  when  he  receives  a  command, — not  because 
he  does  not  fully  understand  the  words  of  the  com- 
mand, but  because  he  wants  to  know  just  how  much 
2* 


18         THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Influence  of  little  things.       Adam  Clark.       Story  of  the  young  lady. 

his  father  means.  A  congregation  will  look  at  their 
minister  in  the  same  way,  and  are  impressed,  not 
more  certainly  by  what  is  said,  than  by  the  looks  and 
appearance  of  the  preacher.  These  little  folks  can- 
not reason  about  great  principles  of  action, — cannot 
make  allowances  for  the  temperament  of  their  teach- 
er, but  they  judge  of  character  and  of  religion  by 
looking  at  small  things,  and  receiving  repeated  im- 
pressions. A  word  too  much,  or  a  word  too  little, 
may  be  forgotten ;  but  impressions  made  upon  a  child 
by  example  are  at  once  moulded  into  his  character. 
What  Adam  Clark  so  pertinently  says  of  a  minister, 
is  wonderfully  applicable  to  a  Sabbath  School  teach- 
er. '  It  is  impossible  that  he  should  ever  be  a  private 
man ;  even  in  his  most  trivial  intercourse  with  others, 
it  is  never  forgotten  what  his  office  is :  the  habit  of 
every  one's  mind,  is  to  expect  information  or  example 
from  his  company  and  conduct ;  he  is  constantly  liv- 
ing under  the  observation  of  mankind,  and  he  who  is 
always  observed,  should  never  venture  on  dubious 
conduct,  or  suppose  for  a  moment  that  what  he  does 
in  the  view  of  another  can  ever  for  a  moment  be  a 
matter  of  indifference,  or  be  regarded  as  a  trifle.  I 
will  tell  you  a  curious  circumstance  that  happened  to 
me  some  years  ago.  In  a  day  or  two  from  the  time 
that  I  refer  to,  I  was  about  to  set  off  from  London  to 
Ireland:  a  friend  desired  me  to  take  charge  of  a 
young  lady  to  Dublin,  to  which  I  readily  agreed,  and 
-she  was  sent  to  me  at  the  coach.     I  soon  found  from 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER-  19 


Moral  honesty  to  be  observed. 


her  conversation  that  she  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and 
also  quickly  perceived  that  she  had  been  led  to  en- 
tertain a  very  high  opinion  of  me.  After  we  had 
travelled  some  distance,  talking  occasionally  on  vari- 
ous subjects,  the  day-light  began  to  sink  fastly  away, 
when  she  took  out  of  her  reticule  a  small  Catholic 
book  of  prayers,  and  commenced  seriously  her  even- 
ing devotions.  While  she  was  reading,  such  thoughts 
as  these  occurred  to  me, — *  I  believe  this  lady  to  be 
sincere  in  her  religious  creed,  which  I  think  to  be  a 
very  dangerous  one ;  she  appears  to  be  of  an  ingenuous 
temper,  and  to  feel  much  personal  respect  for  me ;  is 
there  not  here,  then,  a  good  opportunity,  as  well  as 
subject,  to  exercise  my  influence,  and  to  deliver  her, 
if  possible,  from  her  erroneous  creed  V  But,  contin- 
ued I  in  my  thoughts,  *  was  she  not  entrusted  to  my 
care  1  would  her  friends  have  so  entrusted  her,  had 
they  ever  suspected  that  an  attempt  at  proselytism 
would  be  made  1  Would  not  the  attempt  be  a  breach 
of  trust,  and  should  I,  even  were  ultimate  good  to 
accrue  to  her,  be  a  morally  honest  man  V  I  instantly 
felt  that  my  own  honesty  must  be  preserved,  though 
the  opportunity  of  apparent  good  might  be  apparently 

lost   In  a  short  time  Miss closed  her  book  with 

this  observation,  '  We  Catholics,  Dr.  Clarke,  think  it 
much  better  to  believe  too  much  than  too  little.'  I 
replied,  *  But,  Madam,  in  our  belief,  we  should  recol- 
lect that  we  never  should  yield  our  assent  to  what  is 
contradictory  in  itself,  or  to  what  contradicts  other 


20  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

— 1 

Interesting  result  of  the  story. 

ascertained  facts?  This  was  the  only  observation 
that  I  made  that  looked  at  all  towards  Catholicism.  In 
process  of  time  we  arrived  at  our  journey's  end,  and 
I  deposited  her  safely  in  the  hands  of  her  friends.' 

'From  that  time  till  about  two  years  ago,  I  never 
heard  of  her,  till  we  met  in  the  following  way.  I 
had  been  preaching  at  Chelsea  Chapel,  and  on  en- 
tering the  vestry  after  service,  a  lady  followed 
me,  shook  hands,  spake  with  much  emotion,  and 
said :  '  Do  you  not  recollect  me,  Dr.  Clarke  I  I  am 

Miss ,  whom  you  kindly  took  care  of  to  Ireland : 

I  was  then  a  Catholic ;  now  I  am  a  Protestant,  and 
have  suffered  much  in  consequence  of  the  change.' 
I  inquired  how  the  alteration  in  her  views  was 
effected,  and  she  gave  me  in  detail  the  account  which 
I  will  shortly  sum  up  to  you.  When  she  heard  to 
whom  she  was  about  to  be  entrusted,  she  resolved  to 
observe  and  watch  closely  this  eminent  Protestant 
minister ;  she  was  pleased  with  the  conversation  and 
friendliness  shown  her ;  and  was  so  struck  with  the  ob- 
servation I  had  made  in  the  coach,  that  she  said  it 
afterwards  absolutely  haunted  her,  caused  her  to 
examine  and  think  for  herself,  aud  at  last  led  her  to 
freedom  from  her  thraldom :  '  but,'  said  she,  '  I  should 
never  have  been  induced  to  examine,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  previous  examination  I  had  made  of  you. 
From  the  first  moment  you  entered  the  coach,  I 
watched  you  narrowly ;  I  thought,  now  I  have  a  fair 
opportunity  of  knowing  something  of  these  Protest- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  21 

Convert  of  behavior.      Inference  from  the  story.       Power  of  a  good  name. 

ants ;  and  I  will  judge  if  what  I  have  heard  of  them 
be  true.  Every  word,  every  motion,  every  look  of 
yours,  Sir,  was  watched  with  the  eye  of  a  lynx ;  1 
felt  you  could  not  be  acting  a  part,  for  you  could  not 
suspect  that  you  were  so  observed ;  the  result  of  all 
was,  your  conduct  conciliated  esteem,  and  removed 
prejudice;  your  one  observation  on  belief,  led  me 
to  those  examinations  which  the  Spirit  of  God  has 
blessed  to  my  conversion;  and  I  now  stand  before 
you,  the  convert  of  your  three  days'  behavior  be- 
tween London  and  Dublin.'  You  see  from  this  ac- 
count, how  all  ministers  should  ever  feel  themselves 
to  be  public  men ;  how  cautious  should  be  their  con- 
duct, and  how  guarded  their  conversation.  Had  I 
attempted  to  proselyte  this  lady,  all  her  prejudices 
would  have  been  up  in  arms ;  had  my  behavior  been 
unbecomingly  light,  or  causelessly  austere,  she  would 
have  been  either  disgusted  or  repelled,  and  her  pre- 
conceived notions  of  Protestants  would  have  been 
confirmed;  she  saw  and  heard  what  satisfied  her: 
thus,  even  in  social  intercourse,  the  public  teacher 
should  always  be  the  Christian  instructor.' 

If  the  above  account  cannot  be  commended  for 
the  modesty  of  the  narrator,  it  certainly  contains 
sound  sense,  and  ought  to  be  well  weighed  by  those 
who,  in  any  sense,  are  teachers  of  God's  word. 
The  reader  should  observe  too,  what  is  always  true, 
that  a  Christian  is  more  likely  to  do  good,  if  he  has 
earned  a  good  reputation  by  his  life  and  conduct    It 


22  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Patrick  Henry.     Fourth  principle— religion  early  taught.     A  wrong  notion. 

is  thus  that  "a  good  name  is  better  than  precious 
ointment,"  and  the  example  of  such  an  one  grows 
more  and  more  influential  till  he  reaches  the  grave, 
and  has  finished  his  work  on  earth.  A  young  man 
might  make  the  remark,  and  probably  hundreds  of 
young  men  might  make  the  remark,  and  it  would  be 
forgotten, — *  that  every  man  makes  his  own  charac- 
ter ;'  and  it  makes  no  deep  impression.  But  see  the 
father  of  the  late  Dr.  Rice  leading  his  son,  just  as  he 
entered  manhood,  and  introducing  him  to  the  vene- 
rable Patrick  Henry,  that  he  might  receive  some  im- 
pression that  would  do  him  good.  The  father  intro- 
duces his  son,  and  the  venerated  Henry  turns  his 
kind  and  powerful  eye  upon  the  stripling,  and  in 
tones  full  of  benevolence  says,  "  My  son,  remember 
that  every  man  is  the  maker  of  his  own  character !" 
This  falls  from  one  who  made  his  own  character, — 
from  one  whose  life  entitled  him  to  speak  with  mean- 
ing. The  sentence  sank  deep  into  the  soul  of  young 
Rice,  and  was  probably  the  means  of  leading  him  to 
make  his  own  beautiful  and  symmetrical  character. 

4.  Religion  should  be  taught  from  the  very  ear- 
liest dawn  of  intelligence. 

Among  the  many  crude  notions  which  prevail 
among  men,  we  often  hear  it  gravely  advanced,  that 
a  child  ought  to  grow  up  unbiassed,  without  having 
his  head  filled  with  creeds  and  religious  impressions ; 
so  that  when  he  becomes  mature  in  after  life,  he  may 
make  his  own  choice  in  religion.     I  verily  believe  I 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  23 

Why  children  early  taught  religion.  First  reason. 

have  heard  people  advance  these  sentiments  who 
would  be  exceedingly  mortified  to  have  views  im- 
puted to  them  on  any  other  subject,  equally  super- 
ficial and  puerile, — views  as  far  from  common  sense, 
as  they  are  from  the  Bible.  The  mind  of  every 
child  must  and  will  be  growing  and  strengthening 
every  day ;  and  daily,  too,  will  it  receive  new  impres- 
sions and  new  thoughts.  These  must  educate  that 
mind ;  and  a  child  who  sees  his  parents  and  teachers 
careless  about  religion,  and  ignorant  of  God  and  of 
his  government,  is  not  left  to  choose  for  himself, — lie 
is  educated  to  forget  his  Maker,  and  to  trample  on 
his  laws  and  commands.  But  without  stopping  to 
discuss  this  point,  and  without  more  than  alluding  to 
the  severe  reproof  of  Coleridge,  who  showed  one  of 
these  wise  ones  his  garden  full  of  weeds,  saying  *  he 
was  leaving  it  without  bias,  and  letting  it  choose  for 
itself,'  I  would  mention  a  few  familiar  reasons  why 
religion  should  be  the  first  thing  taught  to  a  child. 

(a.)  It  is  the  most  important  thing  with  which  the 
child  becomes  acquainted. 

The  warrior  feels  that  war  is  the  highest  end  of 
man,  and  the  noblest  employment  of  a  being  bearing 
the  image'  and  likeness  of  God,  is  to  destroy  his 
fellow-man.  This  highest  end  of  man  he  wishes  his 
son  to  pursue,  and  for  this  he  educates  him.  Now 
how  does  he  begin,  and  when  docs  he  begin  ?  He 
would  rear  that  child  up  to  be  a  man  of  blood,  a 
terror  to  men,  and  a  destroyer  of  all  that  is  fair  and 


24  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Education  of  worldly  people.        We  educate  for  eternity.        Second  reason. 


beautiful  and  good.  We  know  how  he  does  it.  He 
makes  the  very  play-things  of  the  nursery  to  consist 
of  drums,  and  plumes,  and  mimic  guns,  and  the 
splendid  glitter  of  the  warrior.  He  teaches  him  to 
lay  his  hand  on  the  cannon,  to  shout  at  its  roar,  and 
to  have  his  soul  speak  through  his  sparkling  eyes  at 
the  sight  of  the  sword  and  the  weapons  of  death. 
The  son  of  Buonaparte  was  walking  his  post  as  a 
centinel,  in  the  ranks,  as  a  common  soldier,  at  the  age 
of  seven  years.  And  Hannibal  made  his  son  swear 
on  the  altars  of  his  gods,  at  the  age  of  twelve,  that 
he  would  be  the  everlasting  enemy  of  Rome.  These 
men  understand  what  they  do ;  and  they  begin  the 
work  in  early  life. 

We  look  upon  the  character  of  God,  the  govern- 
ment under  which  he  has  placed  us,  the  services  in 
which  he  proposes  to  employ  our  souls  for  eternal 
ages,  as  the  most  important  subject  ever  presented  to 
the  mind.  We  would  educate  the  soul  for  immor- 
tality, we  would  train  it  up  to  be  a  burning  and  a 
shining  light  here  while  passing  over  the  globe,  and 
when  removed  hence,  to  shine  as  the  sun  in  the 
firmament  forever  and  ever.  We  cannot  begin  too 
early, — we  cannot  be  too  anxious  to  make  the  proper 
impressions  upon  the  soul,  before  it  is  otherwise  occu- 
pied. 

(b.)  The  command  of  our  Savior  is,  "preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature,"  and  especially,  "feed  my 
lambs." 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER-  25 


Third  reason.  Recollections  of  childhood. 


There  can  be  no  doubt  that  children,  even  from  a 
very  early  age,  are  included  in  this  command.  They 
are  immortal,  they  are  sinners,  they  need  the  wash- 
ing of  regeneration,  and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  By  preaching  the  Gospel  to  such,  or  by  feed- 
ing such,  must  evidently  be  meant,  communicating 
religious  instruction  according  to  their  capacity  and 
age,  giving  "  line  upon  line,  and  precept  upon  pre- 
cept" Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and  we 
are  to  bless  God,  that  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and 
sucklings,  he  has  perfected  his  own  praise.  Never, 
perhaps,  did  the  blessed  Redeemer  appear  more  in- 
teresting than  when  he  paused  at  the  threshold  of  the 
temple,  while  the  daughter  of  Zion  shouted  for  joy, 
fill  tilling  the  words  of  holy  prophets,  and  doing  it  by 
the  mouth  of  the  children  who  shouted  Hosannah  in 
the  Temple. 

(c.)  The  mind  of  the  child  is  tender  and  susceptible 
to  impressions. 

Who  has  not  seen  the  old  man,  who  could  hardly 
remember  what  he  saw  or  felt  during  the  last  year, 
sit  down  and  distinctly  and  vividly  recal  the  scenes 
of  childhood  ?  Who  does  not  remember  things  which 
took  place  when  he  was  but  little  more  than  an  in- 
fant— the  words  of  a  parent — the  example  of  a  sis- 
ter— the  gate  on  which  he  swung — the  brook  m 
which  he  played — the  pond  on  which  he  used  to  slide 
— the  tree  under  whose  shade  he  used  to  sit — the 
grove  through  which  he  used  to  walk — the  trees  that 
3 


26        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Power  of  habit  upon  the  wicked.  Fourth  reason. 


stood  by  his  father's  door — the  very  countenance  of 
the  stones  and  rocks  on  which  he  used  to  gaze  in 
childhood  1  And  how  is  this  so  1  Because  he  then 
received  deep  impressions  from  every  thing  around 
him, — impressions  which  will  probably  last  as  long  as 
the  memory  lives,  even  forever.  Then,  every  im- 
pression, every  look,  the  words  and  tones  of  our  pa- 
rents and  teachers,  sank  deep  into  the  soul,  and  all 
left  their  image  there.  The  soul  of  the  child  is  emp- 
ty, and  you  may  fill  it  with  the  treasures  of  life.  It 
is  confiding,  and  you  may  imprint  your  own  soul  upon 
it ;  it  is  yielding,  and  you  may  train  it  up  for  the  skies. 
You  speak  to  that  youth  who  had  little  or  nothing  of 
these  religious  impressions  made  upon  his  soul  in 
childhood,  and  how  little  do  you  move,  or  restrain,  or 
affect  him  by  religious  motives !  Speak  to  that  man 
who  has  grown  up  without  religion,  and  whose  habits 
even  from  childhood  have  all  been  formed  for  this 
world,  and  why  do  you  not  move  him  by  conversa- 
tion, or  by  the  solemn  sermon  ?  Because  his  soul  has 
been  educated  to  habits  which  almost  forbid  religious 
impressions;  and  I  sometimes  feel  that  instead  of 
wondering  why  no  more  of  such  men,  in  manhood's 
strength,  are  not  converted  to  God,  it  is  rather  a  mat- 
ter of  astonishment,  that  any  are  permitted  to  receive 
impressions  which  lead  them  to  God  and  to  holiness. 

(d.)  The  effects  upon  the  community  are  such  as  to 
demand  that  religion  be  the  first  thing  taught 

Nothing  ever  expanded,  enlarged,  quickened,  and 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  27 

Encouragement  to  the  teacher. 

as  it  were,  created  mind,  like  the  truths  of  the  Bible. 
They  make  wise  the  simple.  A  nation  of  people 
who  were  taught  religion  the  first  thing,  and  who 
had  grown  up  under  the  impressions  of  religion, 
would  be  more  enlightened,  intelligent,  free,  than  any 
which  the  world  has  ever  yet  seen.  They  could  do 
almost  any  thing  towards  enlarging  the  bounds  of  in- 
vestigation and  knowledge,  they  could  give  an  exam- 
ple which  all  other  nations  would  feel  and  acknow- 
ledge, and  they  would  show  what  men  could  do,  when 
virtuous  enough  to  govern  themselves.  The  earlier, 
the  deeper  religious  truth  is  impressed  on  the  mind 
of  the  child,  the  more  intelligence  will  he  possess,  the 
more  influence  will  he  have  in  life,  and  the  greater 
blessing  will  he  be  to  the  world.  Let  the  Sabbath 
School  instructer  think  how  much  vice  he  will  pre- 
vent, from  how  many  temptations  he  will  shield,  how 
much  strength  he  will  create  for  the  hour  of  tempta- 
tion, how  much  the  world  needs  men  sanctified  even 
from  the  cradle,  and  he  will  feel  that  it  is  impossible 
to  begin  too  early.  I  make  these  remarks,  because 
somebody  must  take  the  youngest  classes,  and  cheer- 
fully and  faithfully  instruct  them  in  religion ;  and  the 
teacher  will  find  it  a  laborious  piece  of  work,  unless 
he  first  be  convinced,  that  this  is  the  very  time  to 
begin.  The  wax  is  more  soft,  and  you  may  mould 
it  as  you  will.  The  mind  is  curious  and  thirsty ;  you 
may  give  it  the  waters  from  the  wells  of  salvation. 
Never  repine  that  your  class  are  young,  perhaps  the 


28        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Fifth  reason.  Examples— ancient  and  modern. 

youngest  in  the  school.  They  may  become  trees  in 
the  garden  of  the  Lord,  they  may  be  vessels  of  mercy 
to  this  world,  they  may  give  you  more  joy  beyond  the 
grave,  than  the  brightest  crown  ever  worn  here, 
could  give  its  possessor. 

(e.)  Once  more,  religion  ought  to  be  the  first  thing 
aught,  because  it  will  add  to  the  everlasting  happi- 
ness of  the  child. 

The  promise  is  that  if  you  train  up  a  child  in 
the  way  he  should  go,  when  old,  he  will  not  depart 
from  it.  The  character  will  be  formed  in  the  morn- 
ing of  life,  and  it  will  be  fitted  to  be  a  glorious 
spirit  in  eternity.  You  have  seen  men  converted 
to  God  in  manhood, — and  in  old  age;  seen  them 
live  and  die  in  peace;  but  did  you  ever  see  a 
character  equal  to  that  of  Joseph,— of  Samuel, — of 
David,  who  did  not  in  early  life  receive  deep  re- 
ligious impressions  ?  We  have  seen  men  live  and  die, 
such  as  Payson  and  Evarts,  and  many  others  whose 
sun  went  down  in  glory,  and  whose  bright  spirits 
could  almost  be  traced  as  they  went  up  to  the  re- 
wards of  heaven ;  but  such  men  were  instructed  in 
childhood.  Their  earliest,  deepest  impressions  were 
made  when  they  were  children.  And  will  not  their 
eternal  condition  be  altered  in  consequence  ? — their 
songs  be  louder  and  sweeter  ? — their  robes  purer,  and 
their  crowns  brighter?  Those  who  are  early  and 
faithfully  instructed,  will  shine  brighter  in  heaven, 
because  they  will  have  fewer  sins  to  be  forgiven ; 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Fourth  principle— aversion  to  religion  natural.  First  reason. 

^ 

they  will  have  made  the  service  of  God  the  business 
of  life ;  they  will  have  turned  many  to  God,  who 
shall  go  with  them  to  the  hill  of  Zion  above.  Per- 
haps it  is  not  speaking  beyond  bounds,  to  say,  that 
a  child  of  ordinary  capacity  and  destitute  of  proper- 
ty, but  converted  to  God  in  childhood,  is  frequently 
worth  more  to  the  church  than  ten  wealthy  men 
converted  at  the  noon  of  life. 

4.  A  child  is  more  averse  to  receiving  religious 
instruction  than  any  other. 

Those  for  whose  benefit  I  am  writing,  do  not  wish 
me  to  stop  to  prove  this  point.  Their  ingenuity  has 
been  too  often  tasked,  their  patience  too  often  and 
too  severely  taxed  when  trying  to  fix  and  keep  the 
attention  of  their  class,  to  doubt  the  truth  here  laid 
down.  Instead  of  spending  time  on  its  proof,  there- 
fore, I  prefer  to  mention  some  of  the  causes  of  this 
aversion  to  religion,  in  order  to  aid  you  in  over- 
coming it 

(a.)  Every  one  naturally  dislikes  to  contemplate  the 
character  of  God. 

All  who  teach  religion  feel  the  difficulty,  though 
all  do  not  confess  it.  Some  try  to  escape  it  in  one 
way,  and  some  in  another, — but  all  meet  it.  Some 
deny  it  in  words,  but  acknowledge  it  in  practice; 
for  they  are  forced  to  draw  the  character  of  God 
widely  different  from  that  drawn  in  the  Bible. 
They  hold  him  up  dressed  in  robes  of  mercy  and 
love,  indifferent  to  the  violations  of  law,  winking  at 
3* 


30       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

This  aversion  always  felt.  Expansion  of  the  principle. 

sin , — a  representation  of  God  about  as  correct,  as 
a  beautiful  picture  of  the  ocean  sleeping  in  the 
silvery  light  of  the  moon,  is  a  true  and  faithful  repre- 
sentation of  that  awful  bed  of  waters.  Others  do 
not,  and  dare  not  bring  the  true  character  of  God 
before  the  mind  of  the  child,  but,  instead  of  it,  they 
give  beautiful  illustrations  of  this  and  that  duty. 
What  need  of  this  1  Why  is  the  character  of  God 
an  object  of  aversion  to  every  unrenewed  heart, 
whether  in  a  child  or  in  the  full-grown  man  1  I  an- 
swer, that  when  the  mind  fully  sees  the  greatness  of 
God,  it  receives  the  full  impression  of  his  awful  and 
holy  nature, — of  his  unchangeableness, — of  his  power 
and  right  to  govern  and  command  us, — of  our  con- 
sciousness that  we  have  sinned,  and  are  daily  sinning 
against  him, — and  the  soul  is  at  once  open  to  fear  and 
forebodings.  Tell  the  child  that  God  is  almighty  and 
can  protect  him,  and  he  knows  too,  that  this  almighti- 
ness  may  be  used  to  crush  him, — and  he  is  afraid. 
Tell  him  that  God  sees  him  and  knows  all  things, 
and  therefore  will  forever  shield  him  from  injustice, 
and  he  knows  that  this  very  knowledge  has  counted 
up  his  sins,  and  will  bring  every  thing  into  judgment. 
Tell  him  to  rejoice,  for  '  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth ;'  and  he  cannot  do  it, — for  he  knows  that 
his  government  extends  over  him,  and  will  to  eternity 
bind  him  to  obedience. 

Now  what  shall  be  done  2    Shall  we  avoid  leading 
the  child  to  contemplate  the  character  of  God,  be- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  oil 


Duty  of  the  teacher.  Second  reason. 

cause  it  is  unpleasant  to  him  1  By  no  means.  Take 
every  possible  method  to  make  the  child  understand 
the  whole  and  the  true  character  of  God ; — his  eterni- 
ty, is  time  and  years  continued  forever :  his  skill  is  seen 
in  the  painting  of  the  rain-bow,  and  in  every  limb 
of  the  child ;  his  power  is  seen  in  all  creation,  the 
flood,  the  mountain,  the  ocean,  the  wind :  his  holiness 
is  seen  in  the  Red  Sea  becoming  the  grave  of  Egypt, 
the  wilderness  becoming  the  grave  of  all  one  genera- 
tion of  Israel,  and  in  judgments  upon  individuals  and 
nations;  his  mercy  in  sending  his  Son,  giving  the 
Bible,  and  the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  pre- 
serving the  life  of  the  child,  surrounding  him  with 
friends,  and  the  means  of  grace ; — and  then  try  to  show 
the  child  the  guilt  of  carrying  a  heart  which  does 
not  rejoice  under  this  government.  If  he  trembles 
and  is  unhappy  at  the  idea  of  having  the  eye  of  God 
continually  upon  him,  it  is  because  he  is  constantly 
doing  wrong.  This  will  open  the  door  to  teach  him 
the  doctrine  of  repentance,  and  to  lead  him  to  Christ. 

(b.)  The  same  consciousness  of  guilt  in  the  pupil 
which  makes  religion  irksome,  is  more  or  less  felt  by 
the  teacher,  and  makes  him  cold  in  presenting  truth. 

Hence  religious  instruction  is  not  given  by  the  teach- 
er or  by  the  parent  with  that  cheerfulness  and  interest 
which  they  ought  to  feel,  and  winch  perhaps  they 
would  feel  on  any  other  subject.  If  the  teacher  feels 
chilled  or  lukewarm,  he  will  certainly  add  to  the  dis- 
taste which  the  child  naturally  feels  in  regard  to  reli- 


32  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Third  reason.  What  to  be  done.  Fourth  reason. 


gion.  He  will  present  all  he  has  to  communicate  in 
a  very  dry  light. 

(c.)  Ignorance  of  the  best  methods  of  reaching  the 
heart  and  conscience  will  add  to  the  aversion. 

There  is  a  tact,  a  kind  of  skill,  which  some  have, 
and  which  brings  a  circle  of  children  around  them  at 
once,  and  continues  to  hold  them.  This  tact  is  in 
some  apparently  natural ;  but  it  may  be  acquired  to 
almost  any  degree.  The  great  thing  wanted  to  create 
it,  is  a  strong  love  for  the  souls  of  men.  Let  the 
heart  be  filled  with  this  love,  and  you  will  have  be- 
nevolence seen  in  the  countenance, — have  it  felt  in 
the  tones  of  your  voice,  and  so  spread  over  your  char- 
acter, and  all  that  you  do,  that  the  children  will  love 
you  at  once.  This  will  lead  you  to  think  much  on  the 
subject  of  the  best  methods  of  doing  good.  You  will 
study  to  simplify  and  make  plain  the  truths  of  the 
Bible, — to  illustrate  and  fasten  them  upon  the  memo- 
ry. No  man  can  hope  to  gain  the  confidence  and 
affections  of  children  who  does  not  try  to  let  himself 
down  to  their  condition,  try  to  conceive  how  he  should 
look  upon  this  or  that  thing,  were  he  a  child.  I  shall 
probably  resume  this  topic  again.  I  introduce  it  here, 
because  I  am  confident  it  is  one  cause  of  the  aversion 
which  children  have  to  religious  instruction.  If  you 
give  it  with  hesitancy,  with  reluctance,  and  as  a  task, 
you  may  be  certain  that  it  is  received  in  the  same 
way. 

(d.)  There  is  one  thing  beyond  all  this,  which  ren- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Mistakes  of  wicked  men. 


ders  religion  irksome  to  the  unrenewed   heart, — its 
own  unhappiness. 

Every  one  knows  by  experience,  that  an  unsancti- 
fied  heart  is  unhappy.  The  soul  may  be  sunk  near 
the  state  of  the  beast,  it  may  live  in  an  ideal  world, 
—  it  may  revel  in  sin, —  it  may  fly  from  flower  to 
flower,  and  from  fountain  to  fountain,  for  peace  and 
happiness,  but  cannot  find  it.  It  is  unsatisfied,  it 
is  uneasy,  it  is  unhappy.  It  must  throw  away 
thought,  and  be  a  mere  trifler,  or  it  is  wretched. 
Every  child  has  more  or  less  of  this  feeling.  The 
restraints  of  conscience  and  the  voice  of  conscience 
are  now  a  burden.  But  having  no  clear  idea  of  reli- 
gion, (and  can  he  have,  before  feeling  its  power  1)  he 
feels  that  religion  will  only  increase  the  restraints  of 
conscience,  give  her  voice  new  power,  and  give  her 
new  fetters,  and  this  is  all !  He  thinks  he  shall  have 
the  same  wicked  heart  after  conversion  as  before, 
and  all  the  addition  he  will  obtain,  is,  that  conscience 
will  have  new  power  over  him,  and  the  clashings  be- 
tween his  conscience  and  feelings  will  be  seven-fold 
increased; — consequently,  that  every  addition  of  piety 
is  another  addition  of  gloom,  and  of  wretchedness. 
He  has  hitherto  known  nothing  that  looks  so  much 
like  religion  as  conviction  of  sin,  and  he  imagines  that 
real  religion  is  only  adding  to  these  convictions  till  the 
soul  stops  sinning,  and  this  is  religion  !  Is  it  any  won- 
der, then,  that  there  is  naturally  an  aversion  in  the 
mind  of  all,  whether  children  or  adults,  to  religion  1 


34  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

How  to  correct  this  mistake.  Illustration.  Dialogue. 

They  conceive  it  to  be  only  an  accumulation  of  iron 
in  the  fetters, — only  an  addition  to  the  bad  feelings 
which  already  fill  the  heart.  How  shall  this  difficulty 
be  met  and  overcome  1  I  would  advise  the  teacher 
to  become  familiar  with  the  workings  of  his  own 
heart,  and  to  become  well  acquainted  with  the  reli- 
gious experience  of  other  Christians.  Let  him  learn 
the  manner  in  which  those  who  are  now  Christians, 
once  looked  at  this  subject,  learn  what  misapprehen- 
sions and  distortions  their  feelings  and  imagination 
gave  them,  and  in  this  way  learn  to  pour  light  into 
the  heart  that  is  darkened  by  sin,  and  that  aches 
under  a  sense  of  its  unworthiness.  I  illustrate  this 
point  by  a  conversation  which  is  similar  to  many 
which  I  have  had  since  I  have  been  in  the  pastoral 
office.  Nothing  is  altered  but  the  name  of  the  indi- 
vidual. 

"  Mr.  G.,  I  am  glad  to  see  you  of  late  at  our  even- 
ing meetings,  at  our  Bible-class,  and  even  out  three 
times  on  the  Sabbath.  I  have  long  been  hoping  that 
you  would  be  brought  into  the  fold,  and  that  I  should 
have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  a  decidedly  religious 
man." 

"Thank  you,  Sir;  but  I  am  not  certain  that  I 
shall  continue  to  attend  these  meetings  much  longer. 
I  have  often  thought  I  would  have  religion,  but  the 
more  religion  I  obtain,  the  more  gloomy  and  unhappy 
I  feel." 

"  I  am  surprised,  Mr.  G., — for  I  did  not  know  that 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  35 

Dialogue  continued.  Expansion  of  the  principle. 

you  had  *  obtained'  any  l  religion  If  Do  you  mean 
to  say,  that  you  have  repented  of  your  sins,  forsaken 
them  all, — that  you  are  now  trusting  in  the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ,  with  a  heart  contrite  for  your  past  life, 
full  of  gratitude  for  mercy  and  pardon,  and  full  of 
holy  resolution  for  the  future  V 

"  Not  exactly  so ;  but  I  mean,  I  have  attended  your 
meetings,  and  have  heard  all  you  have  to  say, — that  I 
have  given  my  thoughts  somewhat  to  religion,  but  the 
more  I  have  done  it,  the  more  dark  it  seems,  and  the 
further  I  am  from  being  happy.  If  conscience  now 
gives  me  so  little  peace,  what  should  I  do,  were  I  to 
give  up  all  my  thoughts  to  religion,  and  let  conscience 
have  full  swing  ?" 

"  My  dear  Sir,  conscience  will  have  *  full  swing/ 
as  you  call  it,  to  all  eternity,  even  if  you  are  lost,  and 
have  your  portion  with  unbelievers  and  hypocrites. 
But  this  is  not  religion.  Pharaoh  and  Judas  had  this 
kind  of  religion,  and  it  drove  them  to  madness." 

"  I  don't  wonder  at  it" 

"  You  have  mistaken  the  lashings  of  conscience  for 
religion.  It  is  true,  that  the  more  of  such  religion 
you  have,  the  more  wretched  you  will  be.  But  have 
I  not  often  explained  to  you  from  the  pulpit,  that 
religion  is  something  widely  different  from  this  V 

"  I  don't  know ;  you  often  seem  to  preach  contra- 
dictions. I  cannot  understand  why  the  very  first 
movements  of  the  soul  towards  religion  should  make 
me  more  and  more  unhappy.     You  tell  me  it  is  all 


36  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  stubborn  son.  Clear  illustration. 

gold,  and  when  obtained  it  will  render  me  happy. 
How  can  a  great  quantity  of  gold  make  me  happy, 
when  the  first  small  piece  I  get  renders  me  so  miser- 
able?" 

"  Mr.  G.,  you  recollect,  some  days  since,  you  gave 
me  an  interesting  account  of  your  boy.  You  said  he 
ran  away  from  school,  and  spent  three  days  in  the 
company  of  vicious  and  idle  boys.  You  recollect 
that  you  told  me,  that  when  you  called  him  to  account, 
you  shut  him  up  in  a  chamber  without  food,  till  he 
would  acknowledge  his  sin,  ask  your  pardon,  and  the 
pardon  of  the  school.     Am  I  right  ?" 

"  Yes,  Sir ;  but  I  don't  see  what  this  has  to  do  with 
the  subject." 

"  Did  you  not  tell  me,  that  he  held  out  for  three 
days,  and  that  every  time  you  went  to  the  door  he 
seemed  more  stubborn  and  hardened  V* 

"  Yes." 

"Do  you  suppose  he  was  growing  happy  during 
this  time?" 

"No,  he  grew  miserable;  and  my  going  to  his 
chamber  and  asking  him  if  he  would  submit,  seemed 
almost  to  render  him  distracted." 

"  Was  that  submission  to  you  V 

"  No,  to  be  sure  not." 

"  Well,  did  he  not  grow  more  and  more  miserable 
and  wretched,  till  at  last  he  was  brought  to  submit, 
bow  his  will  to  yours,  ask  your  pardon,  and  the  par- 
don of  the  school  V9 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  37 


Conclusion  of  the  illustration. 


"Yes." 

"Well,  he  undoubtedly  looked  upon  the  feelings 
of  submission,  just  as  you  do  upon  religion ;  the  more 
he  thought  of  these  feelings,  the  more  he  dreaded 
them,  and  supposed  that  the  feeling  of  submission 
would  be  intolerable  to  bear ;  whereas,  you  said  that 
the  moment  he  submitted,  the  cloud  all  rolled  off,  and 
he  was  perfectly  happy.  So  it  is  with  you.  God  is 
coming  and  calling  you  to  repentance ;  you  are  stub- 
born, refuse  to  repent,  and  dread  to  be  a  penitent, 
because  you  think  your  present  unhappy  feelings 
will  continue,  and  the  present  agony  be  increased 
seven-fold !  Sinners  frequently  think  that  a  change 
of  heart  consists  in  nothing  but  an  increase  of  their 
present  feelings,  till  they  become  almost  insupporta- 
ble. That  which  your  boy  finally  felt,  and  which 
we  call  submission,  was  not  an  increase  of  the  feelings 
which  he  had  when  you  shut  him  up,  but  an  entirely 
new  feeling.  And  if  you  ever  do  really  *  obtain  re- 
ligion,' it  will  not  be  an  increase  of  your  present 
feelings,  which  you  call  *  religious,'  but  which  in  fact 
are  awfully  wicked,  but  feelings  entirely  new.  It 
seems  to  me  that  God  permitted  your  child  to  do  as 
he  did,  that  you  might  have  a  glass  in  which  you 
could  plainly  see  your  own  character.  You  are 
wading  in  miry  waters  in  order  to  lay  the  founda- 
tions of  your  hopes,  and  complain  that  God  suffers 
the  waves  to  dash  over  you,  to  show  you  their  bitter- 
ness, and  their  filth." 
4 


CHAPTER  II. 

SUPERINTENDENT.— CHARACTER  AND  DUTIES. 

In-  almost  all  communities  it  is  better  to  have  one 
mind  preside  and  direct,  than  to  have  more,  if  we 
can  safely  trust  so  much  power  to  one  man.  But  as 
in  most  cases,  this  power  is  in  very  great  danger  of 
perversion  and  abuse,  we  are  careful  not  to  delegate 
it.  The  government  of  God  is  the  government  of 
one  mind,  and  is  the  most  perfect  conceivable.  An 
earthly  monarchy  is,  in  theory,  the  most  perfect  of 
human  governments ;  but  human  nature  is  too  selfish 
and  too  wicked,  to  make  it  desirable  in  practice. 
The  family  government  is  that  of  one  presiding, 
directing  mind,  and  as  the  power  is  not  very  liable  to 
abuse,  it  is  by  far  the  best  possible.  The  Sabbath 
School  is  like  it;  and  every  Sabbath  School  must 
have  one  directing,  presiding  mind  at  its  head. 

The  church  is  one  body :  the  members  are  not  all 
alike,  though  all  may  be  useful.  One  is  the  eye, 
another  the  mouth,  another  the  hand,  the  foot   and 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.        39 


Most  good  men  need  a  leader.  Influence  of  the  leader  in  an  army. 

the  like.  She  can  furnish  many  willing  hands,  and 
ready  feet,  but  they  want  the  eye  to  guide  them.  In 
other  words,  there  are  multitudes  of  good  people  who 
can  do  good,  become  very  useful,  but  they  want  to 
lean  on  some  one  for  direction.  Some  are  too  young, 
and  lack  experience ;  some  are,  by  habit  and  educa- 
tion, diffident  of  their  own  powers;  some  are  com- 
paratively ignorant ;  and  some  are  naturally  timid  and 
indifferent  These  are  all  willing  to  labor  to  do 
good, — are  desirous  to  do  so;  but  they  want  some 
one  to  guide,  direct,  and  to  lead. 

The  best  army  has  been  routed,  and  the  tide  of 
victory  rolled  suddenly  back,  by  the  fall  of  a  leader. 
The  army  remained  the  same,  the  courage  the  same, 
but  they  could  do  nothing  without  the  presiding, 
directing  mind.  What  Xenophon  says  to  his  generals, 
may  be  said  to  those  whom  God  has  raised  up  to  be 
the  leaders  among  his  people.  "All  the  soldiers 
direct  their  eyes  to  you. — If  they  behold  you  dis- 
pirited, they  themselves  will  be  cowards.  But  if  you 
appear  preparing  to  attack  the  enemy,  and  encour- 
age them  onward,  be  assured  they  will  follow  you, 
and  attempt  to  imitate  you.  And  it  is  fit  that  you 
should  excel  them." 

So  many  qualities  of  the  very  highest  order  need 
to  be  united  in  a  Superintendent,  that  I  feel  afraid 
of  beginning  to  enumerate  them,  lest  the  reader 
say,  *  he  has  drawn  a  character  neither  to  be  found 
nor  attained/    I  am  afraid  too,  of  so  estimating  some 


40        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Difficulties  of  the  present  subject.  Arrangement.  Where  teachers  get  power. 

parts  of  his  character  as  to  lead  to  the  impression, 
that  they  may  be  sought  and  cultivated,  to  the  loss, 
or  to  the  neglect  of  others.  The  prosperity,  life, 
character,  and  usefulness  of  a  school,  depend  more 
upon  the  Superintendent  than  upon  any,  and  perhaps 
all  other  things  united.  Thus,  you  will  at  one  time 
see  a  school  flourishing,  full,  and  prosperous.  It  is 
the  glory  of  the  congregation.  You  call  a  few  years 
after,  and  find  it  small,  drooping,  and  almost  lifeless. 
The  reason  of  this  difference,  in  most  instances,  is  to 
he  traced  to  the  different  men  who  superintend  it. 

I  will  first  mention  the  duties  which  belong  to  the 
office,  and  then  the  traits  of  character  needed  to 
meet  and  fulfil  these  duties.  What  I  shall  try  to  say 
in  a  few  pages,  ought  to  be  drawn  out  and  illustrated 
through  a  whole  volume. 

I  would  here  remark  that  the  teachers  ought  to  be 
annually  elected  by  the  church ;  and  the  meeting  of 
election  ought  to  be  one  of  examination  of  the  school, 
review  of  the  past,  prayer  for  the  teachers  and  school, 
and  of  plans  for  aiding  the  teachers.  This  makes 
the  teachers  feel  that  they  are  elected  by  somebody, 
have  a  trust  committed  to  them,  and  are  accountable 
to  the  church.  It  will  give  their  characters  and  in- 
structions weight  in  the  sight  of  the  children.  Should 
new  teachers  be  needed  during  the  year,  the  Super- 
intendent ought  to  nominate,  subject  to  the  accept- 
ance of  the  teachers.  I  would,  then,  have  the  Super- 
intendent annually  elected  by  the  teachers ;  and  for 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  41 


How  Superintendent  to  be  elected.  Importance  of  the  office. 

these  reasons ;  that  if  he  does  not  do  well,  a  change 
may  be  easily  made;  that  he  may  feel  that  he  is 
called  into  office  by  the  teachers,  and  is  responsible, 
in  a  measure  to  them;  and  especially,  that  being 
elected  by  the  teachers,  he  may  seem,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  school,  to  represent  all  the  teachers,  and  embody 
their  views,  feelings,  and  plans.  His  office  expires 
at  the  end  of  a  year ;  and,  if  re-elected  for  a  suc- 
cession of  years,  the  greater  is  the  testimony  to  his 
worth,  and  the  more  is  he  held  in  honour  by  the 
whole  community.  Let  him  be  the  very  best  man 
in  the  church ;  a  man  of  age, — that  the  teachers  may 
feel  that  they  are  not  under  the  direction  of  youth, 
that  the  parents  may  feel  that  they  are  committing 
their  children  to  experience ;  and  that  the  children 
may  feel  that  they  are  guided  by  worth  and  respect- 
ability. "  A  good  name  is  better  than  precious  oint- 
ment," and  what  falls  from  the  lips  of  such  a  man 
has  weight  with  the  school.  Under  the  present  sys- 
tem, the  office  of  the  Superintendent  is  the  most  im- 
portant office  in  the  church,  next  to  that  of  the  Pas- 
tor ;  and  every  pains  ought  to  be  taken  to  secure  the 
best  man  possible,  and  the  man  who  enters  upon  that 
office,  should  feel  that  he  is  assuming  a  very  heavy 
responsibility. 

Another  reason  why  the  school  should  be  under 
the  supervision  of  the  church,  besides  the  desirable- 
new  of  having  the  church  cherish  it  as  the  apple  of 
the  eye,  is,  that  if  the  teachers  are  not  elected  by 
4* 


42  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Supervision  of  the  Church.         Proper  place  of  the  Sabbath  School. 

the  church,  if  they  organize  by  themselves,  and  stand 
alone,  distinct  from  the  church,  there  is  danger  lest 
they  feel  that  they  have  a  distinct  organization,  dis- 
tinct interests,  and  may  lay  their  plans,  and  pursue 
their  ends,  not  only  without  consulting  the  wishes  of 
the  church,  but  without  consulting  her  interests.  I 
shall,  in  another  place,  describe  the  duties  of  the 
church  towards  the  Sabbath  School ;  but  I  wish  dis- 
tinctly to  say  here,  that  I  should  lament  most  deeply 
to  see  the  day,  when  the  teachers  in  our  Sabbath 
Schools  shall  be  found  acting  independently  of  the 
churches,  and  in  array  against  them.  There  is  not, 
cannot  be,  in  nature,  any  separate  interests  in  the 
two  bodies.  But  should  the  day  come  when  the  fash- 
ion shall  prevail,  that  Sabbath  Schools  shall  be  or- 
ganized and  carried  on,  as  independent  organizations, 
then  will  heart-burnings  commence.  Then  will  many 
of  the  church  withhold  their  children,  the  church 
and  the  minister  stand  aloof,  or  become  subordinate 
to  the  school,  the  power  of  the  church  will  pass  into 
the  school,  and  the  church,  in  fact,  take  that  parti- 
cular shape.  Then  will  the  school  control  the  elec- 
tion of  the  Pastors  of  the  churches,  and  do  all  that 
which  is  now  done  by  our  churches,  as  such.  No 
man  can  think  more  highly  of  the  Sabbath  School 
system  than  I  do.  I  trust  these  pages  will  prove  that 
point.  But  woe  the  day,  when  they  shall  strive  to 
"  lord  it  over  God's  heritage,"  and  concentrate  every 
thing  pertaining  to  the  church  of  Christ  in  the  Sab- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  43 


First  duty— govern  and  direct  Self-government  necessary.  • 

bath  School.  Christ  did  not  organize  his  church  in 
the  shape  of  the  Sabbath  School,  nor  can  she  ever 
assume  that  shape  without  destroying  her  proportions, 
and  her  existence.  The  attempt  so  to  shape  the 
church  can  never  succeed ;  and  I  trust  it  will  never 
be  made.  I  am  not,  however,  making  war  upon  a 
man  of  straw;  nor  would  I  make  these  remarks 
without  intending  to  have  them  mean  something.  I 
proceed  to  the  duties  of  the  Superintendent. 

1.  It  belongs  to  him  to  govern  and  direct  the 
school. 

Men,  and  indeed,  all  created  beings,  must  be  under 
law,  and  government  You  cannot  find  the  spot, 
whether  it  be  the  family,  the  church,  or  the  Sabbath 
School,  in  which  constant  supervision  and  government 
are  not  necessary.  Some  schools  will  require  more 
of  government  than  others, — those  in  cities  more  than 
those  in  the  country, — but  all  require  it,  and  no  school 
can  be  prosperous  without  it  It  is  a  wise  provision 
in  this  system,  that  the  Superintendent  is  the  Execu- 
tive, and  that  the  teaching  and  the  governing,  are, 
in  some  measure,  disconnected.  The  very  first  ingre- 
dient in  genuine  government,  is,  that  the  Superintend- 
ent govern  himself.  Without  this,  he  can  never  ex- 
ercise a  wise  control  over  the  school.  If  he  speak 
harshly,  or  quickly,  or  peevishly,  to  the  teachers  or 
scholars,  if  his  color  comes  and  goes,  and  the  school 
is  expecting  some  out-breaking  of  impatience,  he  has 
not  self-government    This  he  must  have,  and  this  he 


44       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Must  have  plans.  Ingenuity  necessary.  Discipline  necessary. 

is  inexcusable  for  not  having.  The  teachers  should 
feel  that  the  government  of  the  school  is  in  his  hands, 
and  they  are  to  sustain  his  decisions.  At  the  same 
time,  it  is  well  to  remember,  that  the  more  he  can 
conceal  his  authority,  and  not  make  it  prominent,  and 
continually  felt,  the  better.  He  should  have  his  plans 
matured,  whether  they  are,  or  are  not,  drawn  out  on 
paper  before  the  school,  and  silently,  steadily,  and  un- 
hesitatingly, see  them  carried  out.  As  corporeal 
punishments  are  properly  excluded  from  this  system, 
he  must  have  an  accurate  knowledge  of  human  na- 
ture, that  he  may  ingeniously  contrive  modes  and  sub- 
stitutes. He  needs  ingenuity  to  plan,  and  cool  judg- 
ment to  execute.  I  have  been  fearful  that  the  good 
effects  of  government  and  discipline  in  the  Sabbath 
School  are  not  sufficiently  appreciated.  In  most  in- 
stances, it  will  correct  evils,  and  what  is  better,  will 
prevent  them  in  future.  Many  instances  might  be 
cited  in  which  boys,  who  were  vicious,  disorderly, 
troublesome,  and  corrupting,  have  been  reclaimed, 
and  have  become,  in  after  years,  efficient,  and  devoted 
teachers.  I  will  illustrate  this  by  an  example  or  two, 
from  undoubted  testimony. 

"  In  a  flourishing  school  connected  with  one  of  the 
churches  in  the  city  of  Washington,  there  was  a 
very  rude  and  unmanageable  boy.  As  all  mild 
measures  failed  to  make  him  better,  it  was  deter- 
mined that  he  should  be  sent  away  from  the  school. 
To  make  a  deeper  and  more  lasting  impression  upon 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  46 

Interesting  case  of  discipline.  Effects  of  the  experiment. 

himself  and  all  present,  it  was  also  determined  that 
this  act  of  discipline  should  be  administered  in  a 
formal  and  solemn  manner.  Accordingly,  whilst  the 
exercises  of  the  school  were  going  on,  the  Superin- 
tendent knocked  upon  the  table  and  called  for  atten- 
tion. He  directed  the  teacher  of  the  class  to  which 
the  little  culprit  belonged,  to  take  him  by  the  hand, 
and  lead  him  out  into  the  view  of  the  whole  school. 
This  done,  the  Superintendent,  in  a  solemn  manner, 
told  him,  that  he  had  been  so  bad  a  boy,  the  teachers 
were  under  the  painful  necessity  of  sending  him 
away  from  the  school,  and  go  he  must.  After  a  few 
words  of  admonition  and  advice,  he  gave  out  an 
appropriate  hymn,  and  the  whole  school  sang  it 
standing.  The  teacher,  by  the  direction  of  the  Su- 
perintendent, then  took  the  boy  by  the  hand,  led  him 
out  of  the  school,  through  the  vestibule,  through  the 
enclosure,  and  through  the  gate;  then  closing  the 
gate  upon  him,  let  him  go.  The  boy  wept;  the 
teachers  and  scholars  wept;  the  whole  scene  was 
wost  affecting.  A  salutary  influence  was  exerted 
upon  the  whole  school  by  this  transaction,  and  it  is 
hoped  a  lasting  and  most  beneficial  effect  was  pro- 
duced upon  the  little  exile  himself.  For  who  should 
come  the  very  next  Sabbath  morning,  but  the  same 
little  boy,  entreating  with  tears  that  he  might  be 
taken  back,  and  promising  that  he  would  hencefor- 
ward be  a  good  boy.  The  teachers  were  not  un- 
moved by  his  tears  of  penitence.   They  received  him 


46  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

A  second  example  of  discipline.  Results. 

again  into  the  school,  and  since  his  restoration  he  has 
been  altogether  another  hoy.  He  gives  no  trouble 
to  his  teacher  since." 

Another  instance  of  discipline  will  show  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  school.  "  It  appeared  that  two  of  the 
boys  had  misbehaved,  and  were,  of  course,  injuring 
the  rest  of  their  class.  The  school  was  called  to 
order,  and  the  usual  exercises  suspended  by  the  Su- 
perintendent. He  then  informed  the  children  that 
something  was  about  to  take  place  quite  unusual 
among  them,  but  which,  he  regretted  to  say,  was  ex- 
ceedingly necessary.  After  some  very  appropriate 
remarks,  the  two  boys  were  called  up  to  the  head  of 
the  room,  in  view  of  the  whole  school.  The  teacher 
was  then  requested  to  state  the  offences  of  which  they 
had  been  guilty;  and  every  other  teacher  in  the 
room  desired  to  give  his  views  of  the  matter.  After- 
wards the  Superintendent  spoke  some  time  on  the 
nature  of  their  conduct,  and  the  consequences  that 
might  result  from  it.  "  And  now,  children,"  said  he, 
addressing  the  whole  school,  "  what  shall  we  do  witk 
these  boys  1  Shall  we  expel  them  1  I  want  every 
child  who  is  in  favor  of  their  expulsion  to  rise."  The 
children  in  favor  of  this  course  arose,  and  strange  to 
say,  there  were  nine  only  out  of  about  one  hundred 
and  eighty,  who  were  in  favor  of  expulsion !  The 
Superintendent  then  enquired  what  was  to  be  done 
with  the  two  boys, — they  ought  not  to  be  suffered  to 
injure   those    around    them.     "  Try   them   a   little 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  4'> 

Direction  and  classification  of  the  scholar.  Exercises  of  the  school. 

longer"  was  the  answer; — and  accordingly  they 
were  permitted  to  remain  on  trial  for  six  weeks 
longer." 

In  all  such  cases,  the  Superintendent  requires 
judgment,  firmness,  and  persuasion  mingled  with  au- 
thority." But  discipline  of  this  kind,  judiciously  ad- 
ministered, will  always  do  good.  The  whole  school, 
teachers  and  pupils,  will  feel  it 

It  belongs  to  the  Superintendent  to  direct  the 
school.  It  is  pretty  well  ascertained  that  seldom 
more  than  six  scholars  should  be  committed  to  one 
teacher ;  but  to  classify  these,  to  put  the  right  chil- 
dren-together, to  give  the  right  scholar  to  the  right 
teacher,  belongs  exclusively  to  the  Superintendent 
Here  his  wisdom  will  all  be  needed, — else  he  will  be 
liable  to  place  the  stupid  and  the  quick  in  contact, — 
the  timid,  trembling  learner,  under  the  bold,  off-hand, 
decided  teacher ;  and  the  rough,  headstrong  boy,  un- 
der the  gentle,  timid  teacher. 

The  Superintendent  ought  to  arrange  the  classes, 
become  acquainted  with  each  class,  individually,  and 
make  his  supervision,  as  far  as  possible,  extend  to 
each  member  of  every  class.  A  general  supervision, 
and  a  general  care,  are  not  enough.  It  is  his  business 
to  open  and  close  the  school  promptly ; — to  conduct 
all  the  exercises  of  the  school,  and  to  give  all  no- 
tices. He  should  open  the  school  with  prayer, — select 
the  hymns  for  singing, — make  the  prayers  and  devo- 
tional exercises  short,  to  the  point,  fervent,  and  reve- 


48  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Exercises  to  be  short.  Second  duty,— forming  character  of  teachers. 

rent.  He  should  not  address  the  school  more  than 
once  each  Sabbath,  by  way  of  application  or  exhort- 
ation ;  and  then,  he  should  not  speak,  as  Witherspoon 
used  to  tell  his  pupils,  "  before  he  has  something  to 
say,  and  should  always  stop  when  he  is  done."  He 
should  not  have  more  than  one  point,  selected  from 
the  lessons,  upon  which  he  tries  to  pour  light,  or  with 
which  he  tries  to  make  an  impression.  The  greatest 
difficulty  with  these  exhortations  is,  that  they  are  apt 
to  be  too  long, — far  too  long ;  and  to  become  tedious 
by  sameness.  To  avoid  the  latter  evil,  some  read 
stories  and  anecdotes ;  but  stories  and  anecdotes  are 
very  uninteresting,  unless  introduced  to  illustrate 
some  point  of  instruction.  To  read  and  tell  them 
without  illustrating  some  important  weighty  instruc- 
tion, is  to  make  your  dinner  of  the  spices  which  are 
designed  as  a  seasoning  to  your  meat.  Always  re- 
member that  the  great  art  of  public  speaking  is  to 
be  short.  You  can  easily  weary  an  audience  of  men, 
and  almost  crucify  one  of  children,  by  prolixity. 
Even  clergymen,  who  ought,  of  all  men,  to  under- 
stand this,  are  often  complained  of  for  being  too  long ; 
and  any  man  is  in  danger  of  falling  into  prolixness, 
in  proportion  as  he  is  unaccustomed  to  public 
speaking. 

2.  The  second  duty  of  the  Superintendent  is  to 
advise  with  the  teachers  as  to  the  interests  of  the 
school,  and  especially  to  aid  in  forming  their  char- 
acters. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  49 


Influence  of  Superintendent  on  teachers. 


One  of  the  deepest  impressions  which  I  should 
like  to  have  made  upon  the  Superintendent,  is,  that 
he  has  almost  the  whole  responsibility  of  the  prosperity 
of  the  school  resting  upon  him,  while  he  must  have 
the  help  and  co-operation  of  others  to  do  the  work. 
Let  him  feel  that  the  most  decided  influence  which 
he  can  exert  upon  the  school  is  through  the  teach- 
ers,— not  by  direct  precepts  and  teachings,  or  reproofs, 
perhaps,  but  by  the  general  spirit  which  he  creates 
and  diffuses  around  him.  Some  of  these  teachers 
may  be  young  and  inexperienced:  they  want  the 
example  of  one  who  knows  how  to  let  himself  down 
to  the  heart  of  childhood.  They  will  have  their 
characters  materially  shaped  and  formed  by  the 
general  character  and  spirit  of  the  Superintendent. 
These  teachers  must  at  times  be  aroused, — for  they 
have  forgotten  the  object  at  which  they  aim ; — the 
end  for  which  they  commenced  their  journey.  He 
must  do  this  by  his  spirit  of  prayer,  and  by  an  exam- 
ple that  reproves,  warns,  and  encourages.  It  will 
often  be  desirable  to  have  a  kind  of  review  of  the 
ground,  with  the  teachers,  by  themselves, — to  advise 
with  them  as  to  the  progress  made,  the  evils  noticed 
or  growing  into  notice,  the  plans  pursued,  and  the  im- 
provements desired.  Has  the  Superintendent,  or  any 
of  the  teachers,  found  any  new  light,  or  received  any 
new  hints  from  any  source  ?  Have  they  seen  or  read 
of  improvements  which  might  be  introduced  into  their 
school  1  Have  the  teachers  a  habit  of  observation,  so 
5 


50        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEaCHER. 


Suggestions  to  the  Superintendent.  Private  record. 


that  they  can  gather  materials  for  teaching  from 
every  thing— or  do  they  need  hints  on  this  point? 
The  Superintendent  ought  not  merely  to  notice  who 
among  the  teachers  is  absent,  and  note  it  down,  and 
at  the  next  meeting,  kindly,  but  decidedly  ask  the 
reason,  but  he  ought  also  to  be  able  to  know  the 
absences  from  each  class, — to  know  the  reasons  of 
them  from  the  teacher  or  the  absentee, — to  know  as 
far  as  possible,  the  temperament,  habits,  and  feelings 
of  each  scholar.  And  I  would  here  suggest  to  a  Su- 
perintendent to  do, — what  I  am  in  the  habit  of  doing, 
in  regard  to  each  member  of  the  church  under  my 
pastoral  charge.  I  keep  a  book  in  which  I  write  the 
name  of  each  person  on  the  top  of  the  page  when 
he  enters  my  church.  The  whole  page  under  the 
name  is  left  blank.  This  blank  page  is  to  be  filled 
up  at  a  future  time, — by  such  memoranda  as  these ; — 
when  the  person  left  us, — where  he  went, — when  he 
died, — traits  of  character, — influence,  &c.  &c.  By 
this  means,  I  know  what  has  become  of  all  who  have 
been  under  my  charge.  Such  a  private  record, 
would,  in  the  course  of  years  become  not  merely  in- 
teresting, but  invaluable  to  the  Superintendent ;  and 
its  review  would  recall  the  past,  and  suggest  much 
for  improvement.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Superintend- 
ent to  see  that  the  scholars  are  visited  statedly  by 
the  teachers.  In  some  schools  this  is  done  monthly, 
quarterly,  or  yearly.  The  most  faithful  and  most 
successful  teacher  I  have  ever   known,  visited  his 


THe  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  51 


Hints  concerning  visiting.  Influence  of  innovations. 


class,  or  saw  each  scholar,  every  week.  This  duty- 
must  be  insisted  on  by  the  Superintendent  in  his  vis- 
its to  the  classes,  and  in  his  private  conversations  with 
the  teachers.  I  say  statedly,  whether  the  visits  be 
more  or  less  frequent ;  for  what  is  done  by  impulses 
is  seldom  well  done.  I  need  hardly  say  that  in  order 
to  train  the  teachers  to  habits  of  regularity,  and 
punctuality,  the  Superintendent  must  be  a  pattern 
himself.  He  must  also  insist  on  this  as  an  indispensa- 
ble requisite  for  the  teacher.  He  can  give  hints, 
more  or  fewer,  almost  every  Sabbath.  One  new 
hint  and  valuable  suggestion  dropped  by  the  Super- 
intendent each  Sabbath,  will  soon  make  an  impres- 
sion that  will  be  felt  in  the  school. 

Some  Superintendents  are  frequently  making  inno- 
vations, introducing  new  plans,  and  making  new  dis- 
coveries of  a  more  excellent  way.  Not  unfrequently, 
indeed,  we  find  a  school  in  which  a  great  improvement 
is  said  to  be  made,  and  with  vast  success.  Awhile 
afterwards,  you  find  the  improvement  laid  aside,  and 
the  school  fallen  to  its  original  state.  I  would  not 
speak  against  improvements ;  I  believe  that  they  are 
yet  to  be  made;  but  in  most  cases,  the  advantage 
consists  solely  in  the  increased  zeal  and  effort  with 
which  the  teachers  apply  their  supposed  improve- 
ment. The  school  is  benefited  so  long  as  the  novelty 
keeps  alive  exertion,  and  no  longer.  Hence,  the 
great  thing  needed  in  this,  and  indeed,  in  every  de- 
partment of  the  Church,  is  an  increased  zeal,  and  an 


52        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


What  is  the  great  thing  needed  ?  Examinations. 

untiring  energy  in  applying  the  means  already  in  our 
hands.  And  laboring  for  the  Church,  whether  as  a 
minister  at  the  altar,  or  as  a  teacher  in  the  Sabbath 
School,  I  should  study  more  to  have  the  means  al- 
ready provided  for  our  use,  faithfully  applied,  than  to 
invent  new.  This  general  remark,  of  course,  applies 
to  the  whole  movements  of  the  Church ;  and  if  it  be 
said  that  I  am  voting  to  keep  the  Church  in  the  dark, 
and  to  have  her  grope  her  way  in  twilight,  instead 
of  walking  in  new  and  clearer  light,  I  answer,  that 
the  history  of  the  Church  clearly  shows,  that  changes, 
are  not,  of  course,  improvements ; — and  that  she  has 
lost  more  by  experimenting  upon  theories,  than  in  any 
other  way.  Labor,  hard,  persevering,  untiring  labor, 
will  make  any  Sabbath  School  prosper  ;  and  without 
this,  changes  and  inventions  will  soon  be  found  to  be 
useless.  Let  this  thought  be  well  understood  by  the 
Superintendent,  and  it  will  frequently  prevent  his 
wasting  time  in  seeking  to  improve  his  school  by  new 
schemes,  when  the  difficulty  lies  too  deep  to  be  reach- 
ed by  any  such  changes. 

The  school  ought  to  be  examined  statedly, — and 
publicly, — once  a  month,  or  certainly  once  a  quarter. 
These  examinations  will  be  conducted  by  the  Super- 
intendent ;  but  he  will  wish  to  consult  with  the  teach- 
ers in  relation  to  them, — to  have  their  advice,  co-op- 
eration, and  aid.  They  should  be  spirited,  short,  and 
with  no  desire  of  display.  To  meet  these, — to  make 
them  pleasant  to  the  school,  satisfactory  to  the  teach- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.        53 


Third  duty,— teacher's  meeting.  Pastor  should  instruct  teachers,— first  reason. 

ers,  instructive  and  useful  to  the  parents  and  specta- 
tors,— there  must  be  previous  training,  and  adapted- 
ness  in  the  teaching. 

3.  Aid  in  the  teachers'  meeting,  and  feel  respon- 
sible for  it. 

Perhaps  my  own  views  may  be  singular,  defective, 
or  erroneous;  but  my  impression  decidedly  is,  that 
the  teachers  ought  to  meet  weekly,  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  a  good  knowledge  of  the  lesson,  and  of 
mutual  benefit  by  prayer  and  conversation ;  and  that, 
as  a  general  rule,  the  Pastor  of  the  church  ought  to 
be  the  instructer,  when  the  teachers  sit  down  to  get 
their  lessons.     My  reasons  are  these : — 

1.  The  Pastor  is  responsible  for  what  food  is  given 
to  the  lambs  committed  to  his  charge.  The  Sabbath 
School  takes  the  children,  in  a  measure,  out  of  his 
hand,  and  that  becomes  the  Pastor  to  the  little  flock; 
but  it  does  not,  and  it  cannot,  release  him  from  the 
responsibility  of  seeing  that  the  word  is  "  rightly  di- 
vided." He  can  see  that  this  is  done  only  by  sitting 
down  weekly  with  the  teachers,  and  going  over  the 
lesson  familiarly,  and  teaching  them  just  as  he  would 
have  the  lambs  taught.  This  will  release  his  mmd 
from  any  fear  lest  wrong  interpretations  are  given  to 
Scripture, — lest  wrong  impressions  are  made  upon  the 
mind  of  childhood,  or  lest  modes  of  thinking  or  of 
teaching  prevail,  such  as  he  cannot  but  feel  are  mis- 
taken, useless,  consuming  time,  if  not  in  themselves, 
dangerous. 

5* 


54        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Second  reason.  Third  reason. 

2.  The  Pastor  is,  as  a  general  thing,  the  best  qual- 
ified to  aid  the  teachers  to  understand  the  lesson.  He 
is,  or  ought  to  be,  familiar  with  the  tenor  and  spirit 
of  the  Bible,  knows  its  great  plan,  and  has  that  in 
mind  when  looking  at  its  several  parts ;  he  has  long 
been  in  the  habit  of  studying  it,  for  the  purpose  of 
understanding  and  explaining  its  meaning,  has  helps 
and  aids  by  which  to  understand  it,  which  few  pos- 
sess; and,  he  has  the  habit  of  communicating  thought, 
and  ought  to  be  able,  in  a  given  time,  say  an  hour, 
to  communicate  more  thought  than  any  other  man. 
To  "  be  apt  to  teach,"  is  one  essential  ingredient  in 
his  character.  What  would  cost  another  man  days 
of  hard  study,  and  perhaps  weeks,  not  knowing  on 
what  books  to  lay  the  hand  for  information,  the  min- 
ister can  at  once  communicate;  for  the  ground  is 
familiar  to  him,  and  he  has  been  over  it  all  repeatedly. 

3.  The  Pastor  should  aid  the  teachers  in  their 
meeting,  because  it  will  give  him  a  deeper  interest  in 
the  school.  I  have  known  teachers  to  shut  out  the 
minister  from  all  their  meetings,  from  giving  his 
views  on  the  lesson,  and  then  bitterly  complain  be- 
cause he  took  no  deeper  interest  in  the  school.  But 
who  can  feel  interest  in  a  factory  in  which  he  never 
entered, — in  a  stock  of  which  he  owns  none, — or  in  a 
business  with  which  he  has  nothing  to  do  ?  I  never 
have  known  any  schools  so  well  conducted,  so  efficient 
and  spiritual,  as  those  in  which  the  minister  exerted 
his  influence  by  means  of  the  teachers'  meeting.     It 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  55 


Business  meetings.  Misconception  of  teachers 


binds  the  Pastor  and  the  teachers  together ;  it  pre- 
vents all  feelings  of  jealousy  and  complaint,  and  it 
makes  the  school  the  nursery  of  hearts  whose  piety 
is  kindled  at  the  very  altar.  There  are,  undoubtedly, 
exceptions  to  these  remarks ;  and  perhaps  I  am  speak- 
ing too  much  of  my  own  delightful  experience. 

But  besides,  or  in  addition  to  this  hour  devoted 
weekly  to  obtaining  a  correct  and  familiar  knowledge 
of  the  lesson,  perhaps  at  its  close,  there  should  be  a 
meeting  under  the  direction  of  the  Superintendent, 
to  review  the  last  Sabbath, — to  lay  plans  for  the  fu- 
ture, to  talk  over  difficulties  and  discouragements, 
cases  of  discipline,  irregularities  observable  in  the 
teachers  and  in  the  scholars,  the  state  of  religion,  and 
the  means  to  be  used  to  advance  it,  &c.  This  meet- 
ing should  be  a  sort  of  "  to-do-good  meeting,"  for  mu- 
tual improvement,  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  school. 
It  might  be  short ;  and  if  there  was  little  to  say,  at 
times,  the  season  would  be  no  less  profitably  employed 
in  prayer,  and  in  seeking  aid  and  wisdom  from  God. 
But  even  without  such  meetings,  for  the  purpose  of 
going  over  the  lesson,  and  of  laying  plans  and  the  like, 
your  school  cannot  prosper.  As  a  general  thing, 
teachers  loith  whom  I  have  been  acquainted,  have 
no  adequate  conception  of  the  amount  of  furniture 
necessary  in  order  to  teach  a  class  in  the  Sabbath 
school.  Some  schools  have  never  had  these  meetings 
with  a  view  to  study  the  lesson;  others  have  but 
part  of  the   teachers   present.     Those  schools,  and 


56  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


How  the  school  to  be  increased. 


those  teachers,  who  are  neglecting  these  meetings,  are 
suffering  a  loss, — to  say  nothing  of  enjoyment, — which 
is  unspeakably  great.  I  have  seen  teachers  who  felt 
too  wise  or  too  indifferent  to  attend  such  meetings, — 
when  they  came  to  teach  the  lesson,  find  it  hard  work 
to  fill  up  the  hour,  and  have  had  to  fold  their  hands, 
and  be  silent  for  the  last  few  minutes, — wondering 
why  the  time  to  close  the  school  had  not  arrived. 
The  Superintendent  ought  to  be  as  particular  in  in- 
quiring for  absences  from  the  teachers'  meeting,  as 
from  the  school  on  the  Sabbath. 

The  increase  of  the  school  is  a  very  important  part 
of  the  duties  of  the  Superintendent.  Unless  great 
pains  are  taken,  every  school  will  diminish, — by  the 
removal  of  scholars, — by  deaths, — by  the  indifference 
of  parents, — by  the  age  of  pupils,  and  by  other 
causes.  The  Superintendent  will  find  his  little  con- 
gregation diminishing  from  year  to  year,  unless  he 
make  this  an  object  of  special  attention.  There  will 
be  new  families  moving  into  your  precincts,  new  chil- 
dren growing  into  the  age  to  attend,  but  who,  through 
negligence,  do  not  enter  the  school,  and  there  will  al- 
ways be  materials  to  fill  up  the  school,  at  least  equal 
to  what  are  withdrawn  from  it.  The  object  of  the 
teachers  is  not  merely  to  keep  the  school  full,  but  to 
bring  every  child  in  the  community  under  the  influ- 
ence of  religious  instruction.  Let  the  Superintendent 
advise,  encourage,  and  co-operate  with,  the  teachers, 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  57 


Superintendent  should  not  be  dogmatical. 


and  have  one,  and  in  cities  two,  special  efforts  made 
every  year,  to  fill  up  the  school  with  new  scholars. 

But  let  the  Superintendent  be  careful  lest  he  be- 
come dogmatical ;  *  lest  in  consultation,'  to  use  the 
somewhat  obscure,  but.  powerful  language  of  John 
Foster, '  his  manner  indicate,  that  when  he  is  equally 
with  the  rest  in  possession  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  he  does  not  at  all  expect  to  hear  any  opinions 
that  shall  correct  his  own ;  but  is  satisfied  that  either 
his  present  view  of  the  subject  is  the  right  one,  or 
that  his  own  mind  must  originate  that  which  shall  be 
so.  This  striking  difference  will  be  apparent  between 
him  and  his  associates,  that  their  manner  of  receiving 
his  opinions  is  that  of  agreement  or  dissent :  his  man- 
ner of  receiving  theirs  is  that  of  sanction  or  rejection. 
He  has  the  tone  of  authority  deciding  on  what  they 
say,  but  never  of  submitting  to  the  rejection  of  what 
he  himself  says.  Their  coincidence  of  views  does 
not  give  him  a  firmer  assurance  of  being  right,  nor 
their  dissent  any  other  impression  than  that  of  their 
want  of  judgment.  If  his  feeling  took  the  distinct 
form  of  reflection,  it  would  be,  *  mine  is  the  business 
of  comprehending  and  devising,  and  I  am  here  to 
rule  this  company,  and  not  to  consult  them :  I  want 
their  docility,  not  their  arguments ;  I  seek  not  their 
co-operation  in  thinking,  but  to  determine  their  con- 
currence in  what  is  already  thought  for  them.'  Thus 
many  suggestions  which  seem  important  to  those  who 
make  them,  will  be  disposed  of  by  him  with  so  slight 


58       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Division  of  schools.  Use  of  sympathy. 

an  attentioD,  that  it  will  seem  very  disrespectful  to 
those,  who  may  possibly  refuse  to  admit  that  he  is 
wiser  than  all  men,  or  that  they  themselves  are  idiots.' 
All  this  must  be  studiously  avoided. 

It  may  sometimes  become  a  question  whether,  in  a 
single  village,  for  example,  the  same  set  of  teachers 
shall  have  one  school,  or  several ;  i.  e.  one  large,  cen- 
tral school,  or  several  different  branches.  It  is  im- 
possible, in  answer  to  all  such  questions,  to  do  any 
thing  more  than  to  lay  down  general  principles. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  a  large  school  has 
many  decided  advantages  over  a  small  one,  or  several 
small  ones.  These  advantages  arc  obvious.  There 
is  more  excitement  and  interest  in  the  teachers  and 
in  the  scholars  in  a  large  school,  than  in  a  small  one. 
The  Library  is  managed  to  better  advantage,  every 
thing  is  on  a  larger  scale,  and  is  more  animated.  If 
the  responsibility  of  the  Superintendent  is  increased, 
so  are  his  means  of  doing  good,  and  so  are  the  mo- 
tives to  exertion.  There  is  something  in  sympathy, 
mysterious  indeed,  but  exceedingly  powerful,  and 
which,  in  a  large  school,  may  be  used  to  great  advan- 
tage. We  know  its  influence  upon  the  Senator,  upon 
the  Advocate,  and  especially  upon  the  pu'pit  orator. 
The  man  who  is  effective,  powerful,  and  almost  be- 
yond what  is  human,  before  a  large  audience,  is  tame 
when  speaking  to  a  score  of  people.  Probably  the 
man  has  never  yet  lived,  who  could  long  be  an  orator 
before  a  small  assembly.     Even  Cicero  could  not  de- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.        59 


The  principle  of  sympathy  to  be  used.  Used  by  the  Jews. 

liver  his  famous  Oration  in  behalf  of  the  Poet  Archias, 
though  addressed  to  a  single  man,  without  having  all 
that  was  learned  and  great  in  Rome  to  hear  him. 
People  in  the  country  know  that  their  minister  speaks 
more  eloquently,  and  the  meetings  are  more  interest- 
ing in  the  summer,  than  in  the  winter, — because  the 
meetings  are  more  fully  attended. 

Having  made  allusion  to  a  certain  principle,  per- 
haps I  shall  not  have  a  better  place  than  this,  in 
which  to  give  my  views  and  feelings  to  those  who 
guide  our  Sabbath  Schools,  on  the  possibility  of  per- 
verting the  human  sympathies  in  promoting  religion. 

I  have  long  been  of  the  opinion,  that  regular  philo- 
sophical principles  are  as  really  employed  in  revivals 
of  religion,  under  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as 
in  any  other  case.  The  whole  Jewish  system  of  wor- 
ship was  designed  and  arranged  to  meet  the  social 
sympathies  of  man.  Read  the  sublime  description 
of  the  march  of  the  children  of  Israel  as  they  fol- 
lowed the  cloudy  pillar,  which  the  luminous,  but  too 
sceptical  pen  of  Jahn  has  drawn.  Read  the  songs 
of  Degrees  in  the  Psalms  of  David,  which  the  glad- 
dened tribes  sang,  as  they  went  three  times  a  year 
up  the  hill  of  Zion,  to  meet  the  scattered  nation,  and 
to  bow  before  God  in  solemn  worship.  They  met  on 
the  sacred  hill  of  Zion, — mingled  their  songs,  their 
sacrifices,  their  prayers,  their  joys  and  sorrows,  formed 
new  acquaintances,  revived  old  friendships,  and  learn- 
ed the  condition  of  every  tribe  and  corner  of  the  land. 


60  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Example  of  Paul.    Remarkable  example  of  Christ.    Example  of  its  abuse. 

John  the  Baptist  made  use  of  the  same  principle; 
so  did  Christ,  and  so  did  Paul,  in  that  remarkable  in- 
stance when  he  held  up  his  clanking  chains,  and 
wished  them  all  Christians  like  himself,  "  except  these 
bonds !"  The  iron  of  those  chains  went  to  the  heart, 
and  the  king  and  all  the  court  rose  up  hastily.  One 
more  such  appeal  would  have  opened  the  flood-gates 
of  sympathy,  and  the  king  would  have  felt  that  he 
was  a  man.  The  most  remarkable  instance  of  the  use 
of  the  social  principle  by  Christ,  was  when  the  curious, 
gazing  crowd  were  for  a  short  time  all  in  raptures, 
cutting  down  branches  of  trees,  and  even  stripping  off 
their  garments  to  do  him  homage,  as  he  gloriously  en- 
tered Jerusalem  on  the  borrowed  ass,  to  fulfil  the 
words  of  prophecy.  The  Hosanna-Rabba  began  on 
the  mountain  east  of  Jerusalem,  and  ran  down  the 
mountain's  side  like  wild-fire,  passed  over  the  valley 
of  Jehoshaphat,  till  it  had  gone  even  through  the 
crowd  of  market-men  in  the  court  of  the  temple,  and 
reached  the  little  children  within. 

Scarcely  any  thing  among  men  is  so  awful  and  ap- 
palling as  is  this  principle,  when  highly  awakened 
and  wrongly  directed.  Let  any  one  read  the  fear- 
ful history  of  the  Reign  of  Terror  in  France,  when 
men  wore  the  ears  of  their  butchered  fellow-citizens 
in  their  hats  for  cockades, — and  women  were  stripped 
to  the  elbows,  and  ancle-deep  in  blood,  butchering 
the  multitudes  as  they  were  brought  out  of  prison, — 
and  when  the  painter  David,  with  a  soul  refined  by 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.        61 

Second  example.  Example  in  case  of  Lafayette. 

the  most  Tefining  art,  for  days  together,  assisted  to 
condemn  and  execute  victims,  that  he  might  see  how 
the  blood  gushed,  and  how  the  livid  countenance  of 
sudden  death  looked, — so  that  he  might  transfer  these 
to  the  canvas !  Could  the  history  of  the  iJark  world 
be  written  by  the  pen  of  the  archangel,  it  would  seem 
impossible  to  exhibit  more  awful  scenes  of  guilt  and 
sin.  Read  the  history  of  the  charges  made  and  re- 
ceived in  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  and  inquire  if  you 
could  gather  fifty  thousand  slain  upon  an  area  of  two 
miles  square,  were  it  not  for  the  awful  power  which 
sympathy  gives,  when  once  excited,  and  so  fearfully 
directed. 

Mather's  Magnalia,  and  the  history  of  the  Salem 
Witch-craft,  will  afford  abundant  and  notable  exam- 
ples of  what  I  mean.  It  seemed  as  if  common  sense 
and  conscience  were  thrown  away,  when  they  most 
needed  these  commodities.  The  whole,  or  almost  the 
whole,  may  be  traced  to  the  power  of  sympathy. 

We  all  witnessed  its-power,  harmlessly  exhibiting, 
and  expending  itself,  when  Lafayette  came  to  this 
country  on  a  visit,  a  few  years  since.  A  minister  of 
the  Gospel  told  me  that  he  was  on  the  common  in 
Boston  when  Lafayette  arrived, — amid  the  rushing, 
the  enthusiasm, — and  the  wild  waves  of  sympathy. 
"  I  could  not  help  weeping,"  said  he,  "  and  all  around 
me  were  weeping." 

"Pray,  Sir,  for  what  were  you  all  weeping?" 

"0,1  don't  know.  I  hardly  got  near  enough  the 
6 


62  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Example  of  Dr.  Franklin.  The  principle  to  be  used  in  religion. 

General  to  see  his  figure  distinctly;  but  the  bells 
were  all  ringing,  the  cannon  roaring,  the  people  shout- 
ing,— it  was  such  a  time!  and  every  body  was  so 
much  delighted,  that  all  were  weeping,  and  so  I  wept 
too !" 

A  very  philosophical  reason,  if  not  a  very  good  one! 
Probably  few  could  have  been  by  his  side  without 
feeling  the  power  of  sympathy,  and  weeping  too.  But 
why  were  they  weeping?  Because  the  rest  did, — 
and  this  is  reason  enough. 

Who  has  not  been  amused  at  Dr.  Franklin's  de- 
scription of  the  effects  of  Whitfield's  eloquence  upon 
himself?  The  Doctor  had  gold,  silver,  and  copper,  in 
his  pocket,  but  resolved  that  he  would  not  give  a  cop- 
per. He  sat,  heard,  sympathised :  first  resolved  that 
he  would  give  the  copper ;  then  the  silver ;  and  when 
the  time  came,  in  went  copper,  silver,  gold  and  all. 

Now  we  use  this  principle  very  abundantly,  and, 
in  general,  rightly,  in  religion.  Let  any  one  attend 
the  great  anniversaries  of  our  benevolent  Societies 
for  the  first  time.  He  sits  and  hears  the  glowing, 
thrilling,  overwhelming  appeals  there  made,  and  is 
captivated,  melted,  and  almost  delirious.  He  resolves 
that  he  will  now  do  more  for  the  salvation  of  men  in 
one  year,  than  he  has  done  in  any  ten  preceding 
years.  He  goes  out,  thrilling,  aching,  weeping.  The 
next  day  he  feels  lassitude,  and  undoubtedly  has  some 
feelings  not  greatly  unlike  those  which  the  votaries 
of  the  theatre  have.     This  was  not  religion  ;  it  was 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  63 

To  be  used  in  Sabbath  Schools. 

sympathy  wrought  up  to  a  high  pitch  of  excitement. 
Just  suppose  this  man  to  be  destitute  of  religion.  Let 
him  see  all  this,  feel  all  this,  and  have  all  his  sympa- 
thies highly  awakened ;  let  him  there  resolve  that  he 
will  hereafter  live  and  act  as  a  Christian.  He  leaves 
the  meeting  with  this  solemn  resolution:  is  he  a 
Christian  ?  Possibly  he  may  be ;  but  most  probably 
he  is  not; — it  is  only  an  unsanctified  feeling  kin- 
dled up. 

This  sympathy  may  be  used,  and  must  be  used,  in 
the  Sabbath  School.  I  introduce  the  subject  to 
guard  against  making  it  a  standard  of  action,  and 
mistaking  its  power  for  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
In  a  school  where  the  Superintendent  and  teachers 
are  faithful,  there  will  be  seasons  of  special  tender- 
ness, susceptibility,  and  seriousness.  The  teachers 
will  unconsciously,  and  unavoidably,  and  very  pro- 
perly, make  use  of  the  principle  of  sympathy.  There 
will  be  ardent  feelings  among  teachers  and  among 
pupils ;  these  will  be  kindled  to  a  glow.  A  teacher 
finds  a  scholar  tender,  or  awakened.  He  urges  him 
to  submit  to  God, — gets  him  to  go  home  with  him, — 
prays  with  him,  and  tells  the  scholar  to  delay  no 
longer, — now  is  the  time,— and  he  must  now  kneel 
down,  and  pray,  and  give  his  heart  up  to  God.  He 
himself  feels  as  if  a  crisis  had  come ;  and  that  the 
salvation  of  the  scholar  turns  upon  this  hour;  the 
scholar  feels  so  too.  He  is  highly, — unspeakably  ex- 
cited.    The   whole   system   trembles.      He    kneels, 


64        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

How  it  may  be  abused.  Hints  for  safety. 

prays,  makes  the  consecration,  and  says  he  gives  him- 
self up  to  the  service  of  God. 

"  Do  you  feel  any  differently  from  what  you  did 
before]" 

"  O  yes,  widely  different." 

"  Well,  do  you  now  solemnly  resolve  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian from  this  hour  ?" 

"  Certainly  I  do.  I  never  felt  so  before  ; — I  will 
serve  God,  come  what  may." 

Now  I  do  not  say  that  this  scholar  is  not  a  Chris- 
tian, or  that  this  is  not  conversion ;  it  may  be,  and  it 
may  not  be.  And  here  is  the  danger  of  such  machin- 
ery. Like  steam,  it  is  powerful,  and  may  be  made 
to  do  almost  any  thing,  if  properly  directed ;  would 
it  were  as  easy  to  direct  and  manage  human  sympa- 
thy when  excited,  as  to  manage  steam. 

Could  this  sympathy  always  be  under  the  direction 
of  devoted,  discriminating,  judicious,  well-balanced 
minds,  there  would  be  comparatively  little  danger. 
But  as  this  is  a  day  of  excited  sympathy,  as  the 
young  are  easily  excited,  as  multitudes  have  thus 
been  aroused  and  have  mistaken  this  excitement  for 
conversion,  the  Superintendent  should  understand  it. 
The  teachers  should  understand  it.  Just  in  propor- 
tion as  the  passions  are  excited,  let  the  cause  be  what 
it  may,  the  judgment  is  unfitted  for  its  office.  In  this 
state,  no  man  can  judge  correctly  and  surely  of  him- 
self or  of  others.  It  seems  to  be  a  settled  principle 
of  action  with  some  teachers,  that  if  they  can  only 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  65 

Fourth  duty, — raising  up  new  teachers. 

get  men  excited,  they  have  no  fears  but  all  will  be 
well,  and  the  more  excited  they  become,  the  sooner 
conversion  will  take  place.  I  cannot  too  earnestly 
recommend  that  every  Superintendent  should  own, 
and  often  read,  Edwards  on  the  Affections.  The 
reader  will  understand  me  to  say  that  I  have  but  little 
fear  of  the  abuse  of  this  principle,  except  on  one 
single  point ; — viz.,  that  of  mistaking  excited  feeling 
for  the  conversion  of  the  soul  to  God.  How  often 
was  this  mistaken  by  the  old  church !  Read  the  his- 
tory of  their  joy  on  the  banks  of  the  Red  Sea,  when 
Pharaoh  was  destroyed, — of  their  solemn  vows  at 
the  receiving  of  the  law,  and  in  multitudes  of  similar 
cases.  Might  I  specify  evils  which  I  have  seen  re- 
sult from  the  abuse  of  the  sympathies, — what  I  have 
said  above,  would  seem  any  thing,  rather  than  an 
unmeaning  digression. 

4.  It  belongs  to  the  duties  of  the  Superintendent 
to  lay  plans  to  raise  up  new  teachers. 

In  the  late  arrangement  of  the  United  States' 
government  to  send  several  ships  in  an  exploring  expe- 
dition to  the  South  Seas,  they  had  to  build  a  number  of 
new  vessels.  Why  did  they  1  They  had  ships  enough, 
good  ships,  and  of  the  right  size;  but  they  were  not  built 
for  this  business,  nor  adapted  to  it.  It  is  so  with  every 
thing.  The  Indian  constructs  the  canoe  which  is  to  be 
used  on  the  swift  river,  differently  from  what  he  does, 
if  it  is  to  go  on  the  smooth  lake.  The  horse,  the  dog 
must  have  early  and  careful  training,  if  they  attain 
6* 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


How  to  raise  up  teachers.  Classes  especially  organized. 

their  highest  perfection ;  and  we  all  know  that  a  boy 
becomes  perfect  in  any  business  very  much  in  propor- 
tion to  the  age  at  which  he  began  to  apply  himself 
to  it.  There  will  be  a  very  great  gain  to  the  power 
of  the  Sabbath  School,  when  we  can  have  teachers 
who  are  raised  up,  and  trained  for  years  for  this  ex- 
press purpose. 

The  Superintendent  should  early  and  constantly 
lay  his  plans  for  this.  For  this  purpose  he  must 
know  each  scholar  personally,  his  habits,  modes  of 
thinking,  talent  of  communicating,  and,  above  all,  the 
condition  of  his  heart.  Were  there  no  other  reason 
why  he  should  strive  earnestly  for  the  conversion  of 
his  school,  this  would  be  one  of  great  weight.  As 
soon  as  practicable,  I  would  organize  classes  of  those 
who  give  promise  of  becoming  suitable  teachers, 
place  them  under  the  instruction  of  the  very  best 
teachers  you  have.  I  would  not  have  the  idea  very 
prominent  before  the  minds  of  these  classes,  that 
they  are  fitting  to  become  teachers, — perhaps  it 
would  not  be  best  to  say  anything  about  it  to  them 
for  some  time ;  but  the  teacher  ought  to  understand 
it,  to  feel  the  full  weight  of  the  charge, — to  make  it 
his  constant  desire  to  instruct  these  properly,  and  his 
earnest  prayer,  to  lead  them  to  Christ  and  to  holiness. 
No  judicious  means  ought  to  be  omitted  to  lead  them 
to  God.  The  teacher  should  feel  that  not  a  single 
exertion  should  be  relaxed  so  long  as  there  is  one 
who  is  not  converted  to  God.     The  Superintendent 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER-  67 

Habits  of  Superintendents.  Bad  examples  cited. 

should  feel  this;  and  the  teachers  at  their  prayer- 
meetings  should  make  them  the  subjects  of  fervent 
prayer.  These  classes  should  be  selected  with  care, 
formed  on  right  principles,  led  by  an  even  hand,  and 
most  thoroughly  and  judiciously  instructed.  In  order 
to  do  this,  the  Superintendent  ought  to  bear  in  mind 
unceasingly,  that  his  school  must  be  a  model.  He 
must  try  to  be,  and  to  have  his  teachers,  and  the 
whole  school,  just  what  he  would  wish  these  scholars 
to  make  their  schools,  when  they  come  to  have  the 
care  of  schools.  He  must  indulge  himself  in  no  habits 
which  they  may  not  safely  follow.  For  example,  I 
know  one  Superintendent  who  as  regularly  sleeps 
during  the  sermon,  as  the  sermon  is  preached.  I  doubt 
whether  he  has  heard  a  sermon  for  years.  And  yet, 
when  he  comes  to  take  the  head  of  the  school,  he 
feels  that  every  word  which  he  says,  must  be  attended 
to,  and  would  feel  that  a  scholar  ought  almost  to  be 
sent  from  school,  who  should  sleep  during  one  of  his 
exhortations  !  I  know  of  another,  who  uses  tobacco 
in  such  profusion,  that  his  person  is  slovenly  almost  to 
loathing,  and  his  breath  is  positively  annoying.  Can 
such  men  feel  that  they  are  setting  examples  which 
the  teachers  and  the  school  may  safely  follow  1  What 
an  exhibition  would  a  Sabbath  School  make,  should 
they  all  sleep  soundly  through  every  sermon  ?  It  may 
be  said  that  this  is  an  infirmity,  and  that  such  men 
cannot  avoid  sleeping  in  the  house  of  God, — the 
habit  is  too  strong.     I  reply,  that  if  for  twenty  or 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Lightness  of  conduct.   To  be  a  model.    Fifth  duty,— retaining  older  scholars. 

even  ten  years,  they  have  been  inducing  habits, 
which,  if  followed  by  all,  would  destroy  all  effects  of 
the  Gospel,  and  even  public  worship  itself,  it  is  time 
for  them  to  begin  to  form  better  habits ;  and  if  they 
will  not  do  that,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  it  is 
time  for  them  to  leave  superintending  the  Sabbath 
School.  Some  Superintendents  have  a  lightness 
about  their  conversation  and  manner,  which  seem 
wholly  incompatible  with  a  deep  sense  of  responsi- 
bility ;  or  a  foppery  about  their  dress  which  indicates 
great  thought  and  care  about  their  beautiful  per- 
sons, and  which  cannot  be  imitated  by  the  school 
without  ruining  it. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  specify  all  the  little 
things  which  must  be  avoided  by  the  Superintendent. 
Let  him  constantly  feel  that  his  is  to  be  a  Model 
School  for  the  imitation  of  all  those  whom  he  is  en- 
deavoring to  qualify  to  become  teachers,  and  he  will 
be  likely  to  walk  circumspectly. 

5.  It  is  a  part  of  the  Superintendent's  duties  to 
form  plans  by  which  the  older  scholars  shall  be  kept 
in  the  school. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  running  through  all  classes 
of  this  country  and  of  this  age,  to  suppose  that  the 
mind  can  be  matured  and  educated  quick,  and  while 
it  is  young.  Our  young  men  must  be  educated  and 
all  ripe  for  active  life  by  the  time  they  have  com- 
pleted their  teens ;  and  our  girls,,  almost  by  the  time 
they  have  entered  them.    Hence  the  Sabbath  School 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  69 

First  method  of  doing  this. 

has  been  considered  a  sort  of  nursery,  for  the  benefit 
of  children;  and  as  soon  as  scholars  have  become 
mature,  so  that  they  can  begin  fully  to  reap  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  system,  they  are  taken  away,  or 
they  take  themselves  away.  As  a  general  thing, 
the  scholar  who  has  arrived  at  the  age  at  which  he 
feels  that  he  is  too  old  to  belong  to  the  Sabbath 
school,  would  receive  more  good  by  the  next  year's 
instructions,  than  by  any  four  or  five  of  the  previous 
years.  The  Superintendent  will  find  it  somewhat 
difficult  to  alter  this  fashion ;  but  he  should  strive  to 
do  it ;  and  he  can  do  very  much,  even  if  he  cannot 
do  all  that  he  would  wish.  I  will  suggest  a  few 
hints  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it  may  be  done. 

(a.)  Make  the  impression  that  it  is  dishonorable  to 
leave  the  school  without  a  regular  tvritten  dismis- 
sion from  the  Superintendent 

Let  this  impression  once  be  made,  and  the  charac- 
ter thus  acquired  will  be  worth  much  in  after  life.  I 
have  known  of  several  young  men  coming  from.Europe 
to  this  country,  who  have  found  their  certificates  of 
having  been  regular  members  of  the  Sabbath  School, 
a  number  of  years,  worth  more  to  them  than  all  the 
other  papers  which  they  brought.  Such  a  certificate 
gives  confidence,  that  the  character  of  the  bearer  is 
based  upon  a  valuable  foundation.  Now,  if  you  are  in 
the  habit  of  giving  a  correct  certificate  when  the  pupil 
leaves  the  school,  and  can  make  the  impression  that  it 
is  really  valuable,  you  will  find  the  scholars  more  will- 


70 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Second' method.  Third  method. 

ing  to  continue  in  the  school ;  and  if  it  be  disreputa- 
ble to  leave  without  such  a  certificate,  few  will  be 
willing  to  lose  what  they  have  been  so  long  in  ac- 
quiring. In  order  to  effect  the  object  aimed  at, 
every  Superintendent  will  see  the  necessity  of  not 
receiving  scholars,  except  in  very  extraordinary  cir- 
cumstances, from  other  schools,  without  a  regular 
written  dismission. 

(b.)  Do  not  let  the  older  scholars  get  in  advance 
of  the  teachers. 

Some  teachers  are  absolutely  stationary ;  they  ac- 
quire no  new  thoughts,  or  if  they  do,  they  do  not  re- 
tain them  long  enough  to  make  them  of  any  use. 
They  read  little,  think  less,  and  soon  have  their 
stock  of  thoughts  exhausted.  The  scholars  are  sure 
to  know  the  depth  of  their  teacher.  They  will  be 
inquisitive,  quick,  bright,  and  it  may  be,  will  go  be- 
yond him.  As  soon  as  the  pupil  has  arrived  at  that 
point,  he  will  be  uneasy, — his  duties  will  become 
irksome,  and  he  will  wish  to  leave  the  school.  The 
remedy  is  obvious.  Teaching  must  be  provided, 
which  is  sufficiently  advanced  to  meet  the  wants  of 
every  class,  and  of  every  individual.  This  is  a  point 
at  which  the  Superintendent  ought  carefully  to  look ; 
and  perhaps  he  will  find  that  the  uneasiness  and 
restlessness  of  the  scholars  have  been  blamed,  when 
the  fault  is  not  wholly  theirs. 

(c.)  Be  careful  to  keep  the  library  filled  with  books 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  71 


Fourth  method. 


suited  to  the  advanced  age  and  improvement  of  your 
oldest  scholars. 

This  is  one  of  the  best  bonds  to  keep  the  scholars 
with  you,  and  one  on  which  you  may  usually  rely 
with  certainty.  Books  of  a  high  character  should  be 
selected,  kept  in  such  order  as  to  be  inviting ;  and  I 
am  not  sure  that  it  would  not  be  wise  to  have  a  library 
separate  and  distinct  for  the  sole  use  of  the  older 
scholars.  I  once  made  the  experiment  of  forming  a 
library  for  young  men  and  young  ladies  separate 
from  the  Sabbath  School.  There  were  shortly 
several  hundred  volumes  gathered,  and  they  were 
probably  of  much  greater  use  than  the  same  number 
of  books  are  to  a  Sabbath  School  in  the  ordinary 
way. 

(d.)  Labor  and  pray  for  the  conversion  of  the 
older  scholars,  if  not  already  converted. 

This  will  give  them  the  spirit  of  little  children. 
As  soon  as  a  scholar  is  converted  to  God,  he  feels 
that  the  Sabbath  School  is  more  precious  than  ever 
before.  His  pride  will  not  take  him  from  it,  for  his 
pride  is  subdued,  and  his  feelings  will  lead  him  to 
stay.  This  is  the  great  thing  to  be  attained.  Once 
bring  these  learners  into  the  fold  of  Christ,  and  they 
will  then  continue  in  the  school,  will  improve  rapidly, 
will  add  a  blessing  to  the  school,  and  you  will  have 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  them  sitting  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus,  like  a  young  church,  fitting  to  meet  temptation, 
to  do  his  will,  and  to  receive  his  rewards. 


72  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Fifth  method  First  trait  of  character  needed  by  the  Superintendent. 

(e.)  When  the  time  arrives,  when  the  scholars  can 
be  more  benefited  by  going  into  the  Bible  classes 
under  the  care  of  the  Pastor  of  the  church,  by  all 
means  encourage  them  to  do  it. 

This  supposes  that  every  Pastor  has  a  male  and  a 
femjile  Bible  class,  which  ought  to  be  the  case,  ex- 
traordinaries  excepted.  These  classes  will  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  the  church,  and  of  all  that  is  good 
among  you.  I  am  aware  that  it  is  sometimes  the 
case  that  the  Superintendent  and  teachers  are  un- 
willing to  transfer  their  precious  charge ;  and  they 
feel  as  a  Pastor  feels,  when  his  flock  is  passing  out 
of  his  hands  into  those  of  others.  It  is  human  nature, 
to  wish  to  keep  all  the  ground  which  ice  have  ever 
occupied.  This  renders  dismissed  ministers  some- 
times unpleasant  parishioners, — it  makes  churches 
unwilling  to  colonize  and  plant  new  churches,  and  it 
makes  Sabbath  School  teachers  sometimes  clash 
with  the  true  interests  of  the  cause  of  religion.  Re- 
member that  though  this  is  human  nature,  it  is  hu- 
man nature  fallen,  and  the  principle  is  a  selfish  one. 

I  have  now  mentioned,  briefly,  the  duties  of  the 
Superintendent.  I  need  not  again  go  over  the  whole 
ground  in  describing  the  traits  of  character  which  he 
needs,  and  which  he  needs  assiduously  to  cultivate. 
A  few  words  will  be  sufficient  to  sum  up  the  most 
prominent  points  of  character  needed. 

1.  Age  and  experience ; — In  order  to  have  a  know-, 
ledge  of  the  human  heart, — a  deep  knowledge  of 


TIIE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  73 

Second  trait.  Third  trait.  Fourth  trait. 

his  own  heart, — the  habit  of  close  self-examination, — 
in  order  to  have  the  confidence  of  the  teachers,  the 
community,  and  the  scholars ; — in  order  to  speak  and 
pray  in  public  acceptably,  and  appropriately ; — and 
in  order  to  have  that  weight  accompany  his  advice, 
directions,  and  instructions,  which  can  be  obtained 
only  by  a  character  known,  and  tried,  and  approved. 

2.  Devotedness  to  religion; — that  he  may  be  a 
man  of  prayer,  by  which  alone  wisdom  that  is  profit- 
able to  direct  can  be  obtained; — that  he  may  be 
unwearied  in  his  attempts  to  aid  the  teachers,  that 
he  may  thoroughly  understand  the  lesson  himself,  and 
communicate  it  with  a  simple  and  sincere  desire  to 
save  the  soul. 

3.  Fjvenness  of  temper ; — that  the  school  may  feel 
that  the  hand  which  holds  the  helm,  never  varies, — 
that  the  teachers  may  find  their  intercourse  pleas- 
ant, and  may  go  to  him  as  to  a  friend,  without  "ever 
expecting  to  be  wounded  by  irritability; — that  parents 
may  find  it  pleasant  to  go  to  the  school,  and  witness 
the  improvement  of  their  children, — that  strangers 
may  find  a  courteous  reception,  and  their  visit  be  ren- 
dered profitable.  Self-government  is  invaluable, — 
indispensable  to  the  Superintendent 

4.  Great  promptness  of  character; — that  the 
school  may  be  opened  and  closed  with  great  exact- 
ness, that  no  exercises  may  be  long  and  tedious,  that 
the  teachers  and  school  may  know  what  to  depend 

7 


74        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Firth  trait.  Sixth  trait. 


upon, — that  they  may  kqow  that  no  changes  will 
take  place  without  great  deliberation  and  thought. 

5.  Growing  humility, — otherwise,  his  station,  the 
deference  exacted  and  paid,  and  the  influence 
exerted,  will  make  him  a  Diotrephes.  He  must  cul- 
tivate piety  in  his  own  heart,  and  become  like  the 
angels  who  are  ministers  to  worms  of  the  dust,  and 
are  good  ministers  in  proportion  as  they  are  humble. 
True  exaltation  and  greatness  consist  in  great  hu- 
mility. 

6.  An  example  in  all  that  is  good; — he  should  be 
fervent,  simple,  unaffected  in  prayer,  increasing  in  a 
knowledge  of  the  Bible,  prompt,  liberal,  noble  in 
charity,  untiring  in  labors,  warm  in  Christian  inter- 
course, growing  in  all  the  Christian  graces,  and 
living  for  the  salvation  of  the  earth. 

Such  should  be  the  Superintendent  of  the  Sab- 
bath School. 


CHAPTER  III. 

QUALIFICATIONS  OF  A  GOOD  TEACHER. 

In  the  enumeration  of  the  qualities  desirable  in  a 
Sabbath  School  teacher,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that 
every  teacher  will  possess  them  all  in  due  proportion. 
Few  characters  are  perfectly  symmetrical;  and 
where  there  are  great  excellencies,  there  are  usually 
great  defects.  The  latter  must  be  overlooked  for 
the  sake  of  the  former.  The  success  of  men  in 
doing  good  to  the  souls  of  men,  from  the  apostle  down 
to  the  distributor  of  tracts,  depends  greatly  upon 
the  state  of  the  heart.  Indeed,  without  a  right  state 
of  heart,  all  other  qualities  will  for  the  most  part  be 
useless.  I  begin  to  describe  the  Sabbath  School 
teacher,  then,  by  saying,  that 

1.  He  should  be  a  devotedly  pious  man. 

The  office  of  a  teacher  is,  and  must  be,  one  of 
self-denial ;  the  labor  necessary  to  acquire  the  lesson 
to  be  taught,  to  understand  the  best  way  of  commu- 
nicating truth,  the  stupidity,  restlessness,  listlessness, 


76        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Testimony  of  experience. 


and  trying  appearance  of  the  class  from  week  to 
week,  the  want  of  government  at  home,  and  the  utter 
indifference  of  most  of  the  parents,  the  return  of  the 
same  routine  of  duties,  the  obscurity  of  the  station, 
the  amount  of  labor  bestowed  unknown  and  unappre- 
ciated, and  the  entire  loss  of  so  much  labor,  all  unite 
to  make  the  office  of  a  teacher  a  drudgery  and  a 
burden.  I  cannot  express  my  own  views  on  this  point 
better  than  to  give  an  extract  of  a  letter  addressed 
to  me  by  a  Superintendent, — a  lady, — and  one  of 
great  experience  and  character.  "  My  own  opinion 
is,  that  the  Sabbath  School  teacher  sustains  the  same 
relation  to  the  children  of  his  charge,  that  a  Pastor 
does  to  his  flock.  He  is  emphatically  the  spiritual 
guide  of  the  little  ones  committed  to  him,  and  his 
responsibility  as  touching  the  eternal  interests  of  the 
six  or  eight  deathless  souls  who  cluster  around  him 
on  the  Sabbath,  seems  to  me  to  be  precisely  that 
which  the  Pastor  sustains  to  the  same  number  who 
sit  under  his  ministry,  and  receive  from  him  the  bread 
of  life.  If  children  are  blessed  with  pious  parents, 
who  not  only  teach  them  to  read  the  word  of  God, 
but  are  wont  to  enforce  it  with  their  admonitions  and 
prayers,  why  place  them,  during  the  sacred  hours  of 
the  Sabbath,  under  the  care  of  one  who  cannot  be 
expected,  with  a  heart  overflowing  with  earnest  de- 
sires for  their  salvation,  to  point  them  to  a  crucified 
Savior?  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  neglected  one  is 
from  a  family  where  the  holy  name  of  God  never 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 
Results  of  experience. 


falls  upon  his  ear,  except  from  a  profane  and  intem- 
perate father,  and  where  no  praying  mother  com- 
mends this  child  to  God,  (and  alas !  how  many  such 
are  found  in  our  schools !)  is  the  class  of  the  teacher 
who  has  never  felt  the  love  of  Jesus,  the  refuge  for 
this  ignorant  and  wretched  child  ?  I  have  often,  as  a 
Superintendent,  in  my  experience,  had  my  feelings 
severely  tried  on  this  very  point,  although  of  late 
years  no  teachers  have  been  admitted  to  the  school 
with  which  I  am  connected,  except  such  as  entertain 
the  hope  that  they  are  the  children  of  God.  A  child 
is  introduced  into  the  school,  perhaps  well  knowp  to 
be  greatly  neglected  at  home.  My  anxious  eye  is 
invariably  turned  to  the  seat  occupied, — not  by  the 
cold,  uninterested  teacher,  even  though  a  professor 
of  religion, — but  by  the  devoted,  praying  teacher, 
who  constantly  pours  into  the  ear,  and  presses  home 
upon  the  hearts  of  her  pupils,  the  truths  of  God's 
holy  word.  If  no  vacancy  is  found  in  such  a  class,  I 
feel  that  almost  a  wrong  is  inflicted  upon  the 
child  who  is  committed  to  the  charge  of  one  who 
feels  but  little  for  the  priceless  gems  she  is  forming 
for  eternity.  I  can  well  recollect,  a  few  years 
since,  an  aged  and  holy  mother  in  Israel  entered 
our  school,  leading  by  the  hand  two  little  grand- 
children. As  I  went  forward  to  meet  her,  she  took 
my  hand,  and  addressing  me  in  a  familiar  man- 
ner, with  a  solemnity  of  countenance,  and  an  im- 
pressiveness  of  voice  I  can  never  forget,  she  said, 
7# 


78  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  grand-mother.  Great  and  absorbing  design  of  Sabbath  Schools. 

'  these  are  my  grand-children ;  remember  that  you 
take  care  of  their  souls.  I  commit  them  to  you.'  I 
felt  constrained  to  take  these  to  the  class  of  a  teacher 
whom  I  knew  to  be  faithful,  and  to  repeat  the 
solemn  admonition  I  had  received.  It  may  be  possi- 
ble, and  there  probably  are  cases,  where  it  would  be 
more  desirable,  than  to  leave  them  without  a  Sab- 
bath School,  to  place  children  who  have  no  religious 
instruction,  under  the  charge  of  those  who  do  not 
possess  true  piety,  but  who  are  competent  to  teach 
them  to  read  the  word  of  God.  In  desolate  portions 
of  our  country  where  Christians  are  few  in  number, 
such  teachers,  under  the  direction  of  a  devoted  Su- 
perintendent, who  as  far  as  possible  will  endeavor  to 
make  up  this  deficiency,  by  giving  special  religious 
instruction  himself,  may  be  better  than  none;  but 
where  large  churches  in  our  cities  and  villages  con- 
tain great  numbers  of  the  followers  of  Christ,  every 
method  should  be  used  to  impress  upon  their  hearts 
the  importance  of  fulfilling  the  injunction  of  our 
blessed  Master,  "  feed  my  lambs." 

"  I  know  it  is  said  that  teachers  in  great  numbers 
have  been  converted  in  the  Sabbath  School,  and 
therefore,  we  should  admit  those  to  be  teachers  who 
have  not  piety,  for  the  sake  of  doing  them  good.  But 
I  ask,  what  is  the  great,  absorbing  design  of  the  in- 
stitution of  Sabbath  Schools  1  Is  it  not  to  train  up 
the  rising  generation  for  God?  If  this  be  its  first 
and  commanding  object,  then  clearly  our  duty  is  to 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  79 


Powerful  influence  of  the  teacher. 


make  every  thing  bear  upon  securing  this  great  end. 
A  teacher  is  now  and  then  converted ;  but  how  many 
children  may  have  passed  from  under  his  care  un- 
warned and  unholy  into  eternity ;  or,  led  astray  by 
his  example,  others  may  have  entered  upon  the  busy 
concerns  of  life  with  hearts  unsubdued  by  the  grace 
of  God !  The  providence  of  God  may  have  taken 
from  one  a  beloved  father,  and  his  heart  softened  by 
afflictions,  and  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
he  may  be  just  upon  the  point  of  submitting  to  the 
blessed  Savior.  He  goes  to  the  Sabbath  School,  but 
his  teacher  is  not  watching  with  eager  solicitude  to 
see  the  tear  of  penitence,  and  to  lead  the  burdened 
sinner  to  the  foot  of  the  cross.  The  inquiry  which 
was  ready  to  break  from  his  lips,  is  driven  back,  by 
the  look  of  indifference  from  his  unconscious  teacher. 
The  blind  cannot  lead  the  blind.  A  Superintendent, 
under  such  circumstances,  if  faithful,  will  not  fail  to 
do  his  duty ;  but  I  am  persuaded  that  no  Superin- 
tendent can  gain  that  influence  over  the  children  of 
the  School  which  each  individual  teacher  may  possess 
over  his  class.  Those  who  have  had  most  experience 
cannot  have  failed  to  observe  the  strong  hold  which 
teachers  have  upon  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  their 
class ;  and  how  astonishing  is  the  influence  exerted 
over  them  by  their  faithfulness  or  unfaithfulness.  I 
will  mention  one  fact  to  illustrate  this  point.  On  the 
distant  shores  of  China  lives  and  labors  a  youthful 
missionary,  who,  I  think,  was  but  twenty-one  years 


80  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Testimony  of  a  young  missionary.  Discussion  continued. 


of  age,  when  h  left  a  happy  home,  to  go  and  fulfil 
the  dying  command  of  his  Master,  '  go  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature  under  heaven.'  He  was 
nurtured  in  our  Sabbath  School  from  his  earliest  boy- 
hood ;  and  when  of  sufficient  age,  filled  with  much 
zeal  and  faithfulness,  for  several  years,  the  responsi- 
ble office  of  teacher.  On  the  evening  preceding  his 
departure  from  us,  at  our  accustomed  weekly  meeting 
of  teachers,  when  taking  his  leave,  he  made  this  re- 
mark, "  Do  not  be  discouraged  in  your  work.  I  am 
indebted  to  my  faithful  Sabbath  School  teacher  for 
the  first  desires  which  were  kindled  in  my  bosom,  and 
my  final  determination  to  be  a  missionary  of  the 
cross."  It  is  not  certainly  for  us  to  say  what  other 
way  the  providence  of  God  might  have  opened  to  lead 
to  the  same  result,  had  this  lovely  youth  been  placed 
under  the  care  of  a  teacher  possessing  a  different 
spirit ;  but  this  seems  certain,  that  this  teacher,  who 
had  in  charge  the  training  of  the  future  missionary, 
will  find  him  a  bright  gem  in  the  crown  of  his  re- 
joicing." 

I  know  I  shall  be  pardoned  for  this  long  extract 
of  a  letter  so  judicious,  and  so  much  to  the  point. 

Let  the  question  be  plainly  asked — what  is  to  be 
taught  in  our  Sabbath  Schools  ?  And  the  answer  is 
plain, — the  way  of  salvation.  Each  child  is  to  be 
trained  up  so  far  as  is  possible,  for  the  service  of  God. 
Need  the  question  be  discussed,  who  are  to  be  the 
guides,  as  a  general  rule,  to  lead  the  child  to  the 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.        81 


Holiness  needed.  What  the  duty  of  teachers  not  pious. 

Lamb  of  God  1  It  certainly  is  a  work  which  none 
but  a  pious  heart  can  appreciate, — it  is  to  be  done 
by  means  which  none  but  a  heart  taught  of  God  can 
understand  and  use, — and  it  requires  a  continuance 
of  virtues  which  none  but  a  renewed  heart  can  exer- 
cise. I  am  confident  I  speak  the  language  of  thou- 
sands when  I  say,  that  as  a  parent  seeking  the  best, 
the  eternal  welfare  of  my  children,  T  should  not, — could 
not,  commit  such  interests  into  hands  which  were  not 
guided  by  a  pious  heart.  My  own  feelings  have  done 
more  to  convince  me,  and  to  enlighten  me  on  this 
point,  than  pages  of  argument. 

We  want  more  than  the  professor  of  religion  for 
our  Sabbath  School ; — we  want  holiness — that  holi- 
ness which,  in  times  that  try  men's  souls,  would  give 
up  all,  and  go  even  to  the  stake,  with  the  song  of  life 
upon  the  tongue ; — that  holiness  which  in  these  times, 
can  resist  the  temptations  of  Mammon,  the  bewitch- 
ing allurements  of  the  world, — which  are  almost  as 
trying  to  piety  as  persecutions  and  the  stake, — and 
which  can  live  for  God  and  his  glory. 

What,  then,  do  I  say  to  those  who  are  already  en- 
gaged in  teaching  the  Sabbath  School,  but  who  have 
no  evidence  that  they  have  been  born  of  God  1  Shall 
they  at  once  leave  their  seats,  their  classes,  and  re- 
tire ?  I  reply,  no :  but  I  say  to  such,  just  as  I  would 
say  to  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  who  should  confess 
that  they  have  never  felt  the  power  of  religion  on 
their  own  hearts ; — shall  they  leave  the  pulpit,  and 


82  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Second  requisite,— good  habits. 


cease  to  preach — because  they  are  blind  leaders  of 
the  blind  ?  I  say  to  such, — no !  brethren,  no !  You 
have  ordination-vows  upon  you.  You  have  put  your 
hand  to  the  plough ;  you  may  not  look  back ; — but 
you  ought  not  again  to  go  into  that  pulpit  with  an 
unholy  heart.  You  ought  this  hour  to  go  before  God, 
and  with  a  broken  heart  and  a  contrite  spirit,  to  con- 
fess your  sins,  ask  for  pardon,  and  sin  no  more.  I  do 
not  ask  you  to  stop  preaching  because  you  have  an 
unholy  heart ;  but  I  do  ask  you  no  longer  to  be  so 
basely  ungrateful  as  to  cherish  such  a  heart.  Just 
so  I  say  to  the  unconverted  teacher  in  the  Sabbath 
School ;  you  do  wrong, — you  profess  to  teach  the 
child  what  you  do  not  understand, — you  try  to  make 
him  love  that  which  you  do  not  love  yourself;  you 
profess  by  the  art  of  teaching,  to  show  the  child  that 
his  soul  is  the  great  object  of  life,  when  you  are  in- 
different and  stupid  about  your  own.  This  is  wrong 
every  way.  Would  the  child  pray  ?  Your  example 
is  against  him.  Would  he  work  out  his  own  salva- 
tion with  fear  and  trembling  ?  Your  example  shows 
him  that  it  is  not  necessary.  Would  he  weep  in  se- 
cret places  over  his  sins,  and  a  hard  heart  1  He  is 
afraid  to  tell  his  feelings  to  you,  knowing  that  you 
are  a  stranger  to  them. 

2.  The  second  qualification  of  a  good  teacher  will 
cover  the  extensive  ground  of  good  habits. 

This  may  seem  at  first  view  to  embrace  the  whole 
of  personal  character.     Perhaps  it  does.     I  shall  not 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  83 

First  habit,— perseverance. 

stop  to  analyze,  but  at  once  proceed  to  mention  the 
habits  desirable  in  a  Sabbath  School  teacher. 

(a.)  Perseverance  in  whatever  you  undertake. 

No  one  ought  to  enlist  in  this  cause  without  having 
first  well  counted  the  cost ;  and  having  once  enrolled 
yourself  as  a  teacher,  let  there  be  no  turning  back. 
Some  are  never  willing  to  walk  the  same  path  that 
other  people  do, — they  must  strike  out  something 
new,  and  will  persevere  so  long  as  they  feel  that  they 
have  a  new  road,  and  that  it  will  not  lead,  ultimately, 
into  that  which  is  occupied  by  other  people.  Others 
will  set  out  with  great  zeal  for  a  time,  and  it  seems 
as  if  they  were  to  do  something  great ;  but  their  zeal 
soon  cools,  and  their  courage  relaxes.  Like  some  of 
the  beautifully  equipped  soldiers,  who  have  never 
known  real,  hard  service,  they  at  the  first  call  of  the 
bugle  move  off*  to  admiration ;  but  a  few  miles  de- 
stroys all  their  courage,  and  even  their  arms  seem 
too  burdensome.  We  do  not  want  soldiers  for  parade- 
days,  who  can  show  a  nice  uniform,  and  who  can 
manoeuvre  to  admiration  when  on  parade,  but  who 
cannot  endure  a  long  march,  and  who  are  worn  out 
by  a  single  campaign  of  hard  service.  Remember 
that  you  came  into  the  business  voluntarily, — of  your 
own  choice;  and  if  there  were  reasons  why  you 
should  commence  these  duties,  there  are  many  more 
why  you  should  continue  in  them.  You  feel  like 
shrinking  away,  at  times,  and  can  say,  40  that  I  had 
the  wings  of  a  dove,  then  would  I  fly  away  and  be 


84  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

May  not  withdraw.  Apply  the  principle  to  ministers. 

at  rest.'  You  see  no  fruits  of  your  labors,  and  you 
feel  discouraged  !  You  cannot  persevere  !  Let  me 
tell  you  that  if  we  might  fall  back  when  we  meet 
with  discouragements,  then  would  most  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel  take  off  the  harness,  and  retire 
from  their  anxieties  and  responsibilities.  I  venture  to 
say,  there  is  not  a  minister  in  the  land  who  prays  for 
faithfulness,  and  who  weeps  over  his  own  deficiencies, 
that  does  not  at  times  wish,  to  retire  and  leave  the 
work,  were  it  not  that  he  is  bound  by  conscience. 
You  find  that  the  retired,  but  repeated  labors  of  the 
school-room  are  fatiguing, — that  you  are  cut  off  from 
many  hours  of  reading,  meditation,  and  even  devo- 
tion,— that  you  cannot  often  go  and  see  your  friends 
abroad,  because  your  class  cannot  well  be  left ;  that 
you  cannot  spare  time  to  get  your  lessons,  and  besides 
all  this,  you  do  not  see  that  you  do  any  good !  I  reply, 
that  the  children  whom  you  instruct  may  be  young, 
may  be  ignorant,  may  be  spoiled  by  bad  example  at 
home, — yours  may  be  the  only  impressions  about  reli- 
gion they  ever  receive ;  they  are  soon  to  be  a  part  of 
the  nation,  and  will  help  to  form  its  character ; — and 
above  all,  they  have  immortal  souls  to  be  saved  or 
lost.  Would  you  not  condemn  a  minister  of  Christ 
who  should  turn  back,  and  give  up  his  profession  be- 
cause he  met  with  discouragements  ?  Would  you 
not  blame  a  missionary  of  the  cross,  who  left  his  field 
and  came  home  with  his  hands  hanging  down,  and 
his  heart  failing  him,  crying  out,  '  that  he  met  with 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  85 

Noble  example  of  Mr.  Charles. 

difficulties,  and  could  not  persevere?  You  do  not 
persevere, — and  you  chill  the  hearts  and  freeze  the 
'  zeal  of  all  who  are  engaged  with  you.  You  cease  to 
persevere,  and  perhaps  your  class  is  scattered, — per- 
haps others  become  discouraged,  and  your  example 
may,  for  a  time,  destroy  the  school.  You  desert  a 
work  which  God  has  most  abundantly  blessed, — by 
which  he  has  raised  up  multitudes  of  new  friends, 
and  by  which  thousands  have  been  led  to  heaven ; — 
you  abandon  the  work,  too,  at  a  day  when  we  need  a 
thousand  active,  devoted  men,  to  every  one  whom  we 
now  have.  Stand,  then,  at  your  post,  and  in  your 
lot  Do  not  attempt  too  much  at  once.  Do  not  be 
fickle,  and  change  often.  I  admire  the  spirit  of  Mr. 
Charles,  one  of  the  most  successful  teachers  in  Wales, 
— a  man  of  a  noble  spirit  "  My  maxim  has  been 
for  many  years  past,"  says  he,  "to  aim  at  great 
things,  but  if  I  cannot  accomplish  great  things,  to 
do  what  I  can,  and  be  thankful  for  the  least  success, 
and  still  follow  on  without  being  discouraged  at  the 
day  of  small  things,  or  by  unexpected  reverses.  For 
years  I  have  laid  it  down  as  a  maxim  to  guide  me, 
never  to  give  up  a  place  in  despair  of  success.  If 
one  way  does  not  succeed,  new  means  must  be  tried  ; 
and  if  I  see  no  increase  this  year,  perhaps  I  may 
the  next.  I  almost  wish  to  blot  the  word  impossible 
from  my  vocabulary,  and  obliterate  it  from  the  minds 
of  my  brethren."  You  must  not  expect  to  see  the 
mind  of  each  scholar  shoot  up,  and  mature  at  once,— 
8 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Like  the  work  of  the  sculptor.       Interesting  example  of  perseverance. 

to  see  old  habits  at  once  thrown  off,  the  effects  of  a 
had  training  at  once  counteracted.  It  will  require 
time,  and  persevering  labor.  "  We  cannot  and  we  do 
not  expect  that  the  human  marble,  (to  borrow  the 
figure  of  an  old  philosopher,)  is  to  leap  out  upon  us, 
self-formed,  and  self-wrought,  from  the  quarry.  But 
it  requires  the  force  and  the  art  of  the  chisel,  to  fash- 
ion it  into  all  those  shapes  of  grace  and  beauty  which 
it  ought  to  wear."  Teachers  are  moral  sculptors,  and 
must  be  contented  to  labor  long  and  faithfully  to  fit 
these  models  of  all  that  is  good,  for  the  various  niches 
of  society.  One  single  teacher  in  the  school  who  has 
genuine  perseverance,  will  do  more  for  that  school 
than  a  score  of  fickle,  changeable,  and  easily-discou- 
raged teachers.  Who  can  help  admiring  the  follow- 
ing specimen  of  this  quality  1  "I  knew  a  pious 
young  man  who  was  sustaining  himself  at  a  literary 
institution  by  the  labors  of  his  own  hands,  and  almost 
as  a  matter  of  course,  the  true  energies  of  Christianity 
began  to  develop  themselves.  His  feelings  became 
much  affected  by  the  spiritual  condition  of  a  popu- 
lous neighborhood,  which  had  never  enjoyed  religious 
privileges,  and  consequently  did  not  appreciate  them. 
He  visited  the  families  of  that  neighborhood  from 
house  to  house,  and  endeavored  to  open  a  religious 
meeting  among  them.  They  would  permit  no  such 
thing.  Not  discouraged,  this  young  man  turned  to 
the  children,  and  went  round  and  invited  them,  one 
by  one,  to  meet  him  on  Sunday-mornings  in  a  Sun- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHLAt.  87 

School  in  the  stable.  Second  habit,— punctuality. 

day  School.  Several  children  acceded  to  the  propos- 
al, and  then  he  again  went  round  to  find  a  room  for 
them  to  meet  in ;  but  every  door  was  closed  against 
him.  He  told  the  children  to  meet  him  under  a 
shady  tree  upon  a  grassy  bank ;  and  thither  they 
came,  and  he  prayed  with  them,  and  taught  them  to 
study  the  word  of  God,  and  the  children  were  de- 
lighted with  their  Sunday  School.  So  it  went  on 
from  week  to  week,  with  increasing  interest,  and  in- 
creasing numbers,  till  one  Lord's  day  opened  with  a 
cold  storm  of  rain.  The  teacher  repaired  to  his  tree 
at  the  usual  time,  supposing  some  few  children  might 
be  there;  and  there  indeed  he  found  almost  his 
whole  school ;  wet  and  cold,  it  is  true,  but  they  had 
warm  hearts  in  their  bosoms,  and  how  could  they 
forego  the  enjoyments  of  their  beloved  Sunday  School 
for  a  single  morning  ?  The  teacher  took  off  his  hat 
and  prayed  as  usual  for  the  blessedness  of  God  upon 
the  exercises,  and  began  to  teach,  when  a  man  in 
the  place  told  him  that  for  that  time  he  might  take 
the  children  into  his  stable.  The  teacher  tuined  to 
the  children  and  said :  '  This  man  offers  us  the  use 
of  his  stable,  and  it  was  in  a  stable  that  Jesus  Christ 
took  shelter  when  he  was  a  little  child.  Let  us  go.' 
This  is  what  I  mean  by  the  energies  of  Christianity." 
2.  The  second  habit  to  be  mentioned  is  that  of 

PUIfCTUALITY. 

The  teacher  should  constantly  bear  in  mind  that 
the  great  thing  which  he  wishes  to  accomplish  is  to 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Testimony  of  a  correspondent. 


form  proper  habits  in  his  class.  These  form  the  char- 
acter ;  for  as  has  been  quaintly  remarked,  "  man  is 
only  a  bundle  of  habits."  The  remark  of  Robert 
Hall  is  a  weighty  one — that  "  if  we  look  upon  the 
usual  course  of  our  feelings,  we  shall  find  that  we 
are  more  influenced  by  the  frequent  recurrence  of 
objects,  than  by  their  weight  and  importance ;  and 
that  habit  has  more  force  in  forming  our  character 
than  opinions  have."  In  all  the  instructions  given  to 
teachers,  this  habit  is  insisted  on ;  and  yet  I  fear  it  is 
not  sufficiently  felt.  "  A  requisite,"  writes  one  of  my 
most  valued  correspondents,  "  which  all  will  agree  to 
be  indispensable  in  a  Sunday  School  teacher,  is 
punctuality.  No  one  can  be  a  good  teacher  who  is 
not  a  punctual  one.  Every  thing  valuable  in  a  class 
depends,  under  God,  upon  this.  In  my  experience  I 
have  never  seen  a  blessing  follow  the  labors  of  a 
teacher  who  failed  in  this  particular.  It  is  al- 
ways sufficient  ground  to  believe  that  a  teacher 
does  not  love  his  work,  if  he  be  found  absent  from 
his  post,  when  his  fellow-laborers  are  pleading  for  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  their  labors.  As  a  certain  con- 
sequence of  his  delinquency,  the  children  become 
dilatory  in  their  attendance.  I  have  long  since  made 
up  my  mind  that  the  duty  of  the  Superintendent  in 
such  cases  is  to  enforce  the  rules  of  the  School,  how- 
ever great  the  trial  may  be  to  his  own,  or  to  the 
feelings  of  others.  When  the  interests  of  the  school 
are  thus  at  stake,  he  is  not  at  liberty  to  choose  his 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.       89 

Loss  of  time  by  tardiness. 

course.  The  path  of  duty  is  always  that  of  safety, 
though  it  may  lead  through  trial.  I  do  not  value  the 
labors  of  any  teacher  who  is  unwilling  to  step  out 
of  his  path  of  ease  or  convenience,  in  order  to  fulfil 
the  responsibilities  which  he  has  voluntarily  assumed 
in  his  Master's  vineyard." 

Teachers  err  here,  frequently,  through  want  of 
consideration.  Suppose  a  school  consists  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  scholars,  and  the  teachers  twenty-five. 
Suppose  several  teachers  come  so  late  that  the  Su- 
perintendent must  delay  opening  the  school  for  five 
minutes.  This  seems  a  short  time  to  wait.  Take 
the  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  which  compose  the 
school  and  multiply  it  by  five,  and  you  have  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-five  minutes  lost.  Suppose  this 
take  place  once  on  every  Sabbath ;  the  loss  for  one 
year  is  seven  hundred  and  fifty-eight  hours;  and  sup- 
pose the  same  set  of  teachers  continue  this  for  five 
years,  it  would  be  three  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ninety  hours.  If,  now,  we  suppose  the  habit  to  be 
by  them  perpetuated  in  the  school,  and  transmitted 
down,  and,  above  all,  be  woven  into  the  habits  of  the 
hundreds  of  pupils,  and  become  a  part  of  their  char- 
acter, no  arithmetic  can  compute  the  evils  of  such  a 
habit 

You  come  late  this  morning  to  your  class.     The 

results  are,  that  your  scholars  are  disappointed ;  they 

take  their  seats,  see  the   school  opened,  and   feel 

lonely,  having  no  teacher.    The  Superintendent  feels 

8* 


90        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


School  confused  by  tardiness. 


at  a  loss  what  to  do.  He  sees  the  lambs  without  a 
guide.  He  waits  as  long  as  he  dares  to  do.  He 
goes  round  the  house  to  find  somebody  whom  he  may 
lay  hands  on  and  press  into  the  service.  Finding 
none,  he  has  to  come  back,  and  take  the  class,  and 
unite  it,  most  reluctantly  on  all  sides,  with  some  other 
class.  The  whole  school  is  disturbed  by  the  process. 
He  kindly  says,  he  "  presumes  the  teacher  is  sick." 
This  is  done,  and  soon  you  come  hurrying  in,  with 
that  quick,  noisy  step,  which  always  indicates  a  con- 
sciousness of  being  too  late.  The  class  must  again 
be  disunited  and  taken  to  their  own  seats,  while  the 
school  is  again  disturbed,  and  the  mortified  Superin- 
tendent sees  that  you  are  any  thing  but  sick.  Let 
me  assure  you  that  you  have  attracted  notice, — shown 
that  you  were  of  some  importance, — but  you  have 
lowered  yourself  in  the  estimation  of  every  one  in 
the  house.  A  want  of  punctuality  amounts  to  rob- 
bery. •  A  short  time  since  at  a  village  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  London,  a  committee  of  eight  ladies,  who 
managed  the  concerns  of  an  institution  which  had 
been  formed  for  the  relief  of  the  neighboring  poor, 
agreed  to  meet  on  a  certain  day,  at  twelve  o'clock 
precisely.  Seven  of  them  attended  punctually  at 
the  appointed  hour,  the  eighth  did  not  arrive  till  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  after.  She  came  in  according  to 
the  usual  mode,  with  "  I  am  very  sorry  to  be  behind 
in  the  appointed  time,  but  really  the  time  slipped 
away  without  my  being  sensible  of  it ;  I  hope  youi 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  91 


Rebuke  of  a  Quakeress.  Curious  and  melancholy  example.   Remiss  teacher. 

goodness  will  excuse  it."  A  Quaker  lady  replied, 
"  had  thyself  only  lost  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  it  would 
have  been  merely  thy  own  concern ;  but  in  this  case, 
the  quarter  must  be  multipled  by  eight,  as  we  each 
lost  a  quarter,  so  there  have  been  two  hours  of  use- 
ful time  sacrificed  by  thy  want  of  punctuality."' 

The  following  description  of  a  teacher  who  lacked 
the  quality  of  punctuality,  though  longer  than  I  could 
wish,  is  yet  so  graphic,  that  I  may  not  withhold  it. 

"About  this  time  a  new  teacher  offered  his  ser- 
vices, who  was  deemed  in  every  respect  qualified  to 
instruct  this  class ;  he  possessed  good  natural  under- 
standing, a  well-cultivated  mind,  and,  in  some  respects 
he  was  industrious  and  persevering.  He  rose  early, 
except  occasionally  on  Sabbath  mornings,  when  he 
though  it  prudent  to  indulge  himself  a  little.  Sun- 
days were  the  only  days  when  he  ever  left  home 
without  private  prayer  for  a  blessing  on  the  concerns 
of  the  day.  Indeed,  he  found  no  time :  as  it  was,  he 
generally  went  late  to  the  school,  and  on  more  than 
one  occasion,  he  came  in  just  in  time  to  hear  a  stran- 
ger address  the  children  on  the  importance  of  always 
being  early  and  punctually  at  school.  When  he  thus 
lost  an  hour  in  the  morning,  he  felt  somewhat  dis- 
pleased with  himself,  and  nothing  seemed  to  go  right 
all  day.  The  children  soon  acquired  the  habit  of 
coming  late ;  perhaps  they  did  not  wish  to  hurt  the 
feelings  of  their  teacher  by  being  in  their  places  an 
hour  before   him.     However  this   may  have  been, 


92  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Effects  of  remissness.  Amendment  proposed. 


from  his  indifferent  manner,  one  scholar  after  another 
strayed  away  altogether ;  as  his  class  diminished,  the 
Superintendent  continued  to  fill  it  up  with  new  scho- 
lars Sunday  after  Sunday.  The  Superintendent  soon 
found  that  he  might  as  well  turn  the  scholars  out  of 
school,  for  it  amounted  to  the  same  thing;  and  he 
found  it  necessary  to  urge  upon  this  teacher  the  im- 
portance of  complying  with  a  rule  of  the  school, 
which  made  it  the  duty  of  the  teachers  to  visit  the 
absentees,  and  report  the  cause.  Indeed  the  teacher 
soon  began  to  feel  ashamed  of  his  reduced  class ;  per- 
haps he  was  fearful  it  might  be  thought  by  some  that 
he  did  not  possess  natural  ability  to  interest  and  in- 
struct the  class ;  and  he  determined  that  he  would 
inquire  after  the  absentees.  About  the  middle  of  the 
week  he  found  leisure,  but  then  recollected  that  his 
roll-book  was  locked  up  in  the  schoolroom ;  and  by 
the  time  he  found  it  convenient  to  see  the  Superin- 
tendent and  obtain  a  list  of  the  names,  it  was  Satur- 
day afternoon. 

n  li  proved  to  be  an  exceedingly  unpleasant  day, 
but  he  was  determined  to  do  something  before  another 
Sabbath ;  and  off  he  went  with  a  list  of  absentees 
sufficient  to  have  formed  a  large  class,  with  hardly 
time  to  call  upon  half  the  number. 

"  He  had  considerable  difficulty  to  find  where  many 
lived ;  some  had  removed,  and  one  or  two  had  some 
time  since  tried  some  other  Sunday  School,  which 
they  liked  much  better.     He  inquired  at  one  place 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  93 

Visits  to  his  scholars.  The  absent  scholar. 

for  Mr.  J.,  and  found  no  such  person.  When  the 
mother  of  the  boy  appeared,  he  informed  her  that 
Joseph  had  not  been  at  the  school  the  last  two  Sun- 
days. Joseph  being  there,  said  he  was  at  school  on 
Sunday  afternoon  week ;  and  the  teacher  just  recol- 
lected that  he  himself  was  absent  that  afternoon,  and 
could  not  contradict  the  child;  and  after  saying  a 
few  words  on  the  importance  of  regular  attendance, 
he  went  his  way. 

"  The  next  house  at  which  he  called,  he  saw  the 
father  of  George,  and  told  him  that  his  son  had  not 
been  to  school  for  a  few  Sundays  past. 

"  No,"  said  the  father,  "  he  has  not  been  for  five 
weeks.  Previous  to  sending  him  to  the  Sunday 
School,  he  stayed  in  the  house  and  read,  or  went  to 
church  with  his  mother.  As  we  knew  much  good 
had  been  received  in  Sunday  Schools,  and  many  of 
our  rich  neighbors  sent  their  children,  we  were  per- 
suaded to  send  George,  and  we  had  him  ready  every 
Sunday,  and  thought  that  he  attended  the  school 
regularly ;  but  last  Sabbath  he  came  running  home, 
followed  by  a  friend  of  mine,  who  informed  me  that 
George  spent  every  Sunday  with  a  crowd  of  bad  boys 
near  his  house,  and  they  had  just  broken  his  parlor 
window.  And  now,  as  I  cannot  be  certain  that  he 
will  do  any  better,  I  shall  keep  him  in  the  house." 

"At  the  next  place  the  teacher  knocked  very 
gently  at  the  door,  for  he  had  lost  some  confidence  in 
himself.     He  did  not  knock  again,  or  wait  long,  for 


94        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


The  dead  scholar. 


he  had  no  time  to  lose ;  and  perhaps  quieted  his  con- 
science with  the  thought,  "  well,  I  have  called,  and 
if  no  one  comes,  it  is  not  my  fault ;"  and  away  he 
went,  without  ever  looking  back. 

"  We  shall  only  mention  one  more  call  which  he 
had  some  difficulty  in  making,  not  knowing  exactly 
who  to  ask  for.  Here  he  saw  the  mother  of  a  boy 
who  had  been  in  his  class ; — introduced  himself  as  the 
Sunday  School  teacher,  and  inquired  about  her  son 
James,  who  had  been  absent  from  the  class.  She 
looked  sorrowful,  and  said  she  believed  "  James  was 
better  off, — she  hoped  he  was  in  heaven." 

"  What !  is  James  really  dead  ?" 

"  Yes,"  said  his  mother,  "  he  died  of  a  fever  from 
taking  a  severe  cold  one  Sunday,  in  the  street :  he 
was  ill  just  thirteen  days  on  Thursday  week  last." 

"  When  the  teacher  recollected  himself  a  little,  he 
said,  "  he  could  not  have  thought  it  so  long  a  time 
since  James  was  at  school" — inquired  "  whether  he 
thought  he  was  going  to  die,  and  what  were  his 
views."  The  mother  replied  that  as  he  became 
worse,  he  was  very  much  alarmed  at  the  thought  of 
death — talked  about  the  Sunday  School,  and  longed 
to  see  the  teacher  he  used  to  have,  and  wished  me 
often  to  read  the  Bible  to  him ;  and  when  he  became 
very  ill,  and  near  his  end,  seemed  resigned  to  die. 
We  asked  him  if  we  should  send  for  you,  and  he  did 
not  seem  to  desire  it.  He  said,  "  the  Sunday  School 
teacher  we  have  now  has  never  been  here,  and  may 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  95 

The  result.  Obedience  necessary. 

be  he  would  not  like  to  come,"  and  then  he  held  up 
his  poor,  thin  arms,  and  said,  "I  don't  think  he'd 
hardly  recollect  me,  I  've  fell  away  so  much." 

"  James  died  without  seeing  his  teacher ;  and  his 
poor  mother  entertained  the  hope  that  he  was  happy, 
because — he  once  loved  the  Sunday  School — was 
desirous  of  hearing  the  Bible  read,  when  he  could  not 
do  any  thing  else, — and  appeared  willing  to  die,  when 
he  found  he  could  not  live.  This  teacher ! — he  sel- 
dom thought  of  James  while  he  lived,  but  he  never 
forgot  him  when  he  was  dead !" 

I  will  add  here,  that  a  teacher  can  never  obtain 
implicit  and  unhesitating  obedience  in  his  class,  un- 
less he  is  a  man  punctual  in  every  respect :  and  to  be 
a  successful  teacher,  he  must  have  unyielding  disci- 
pline over  his  scholars.  This,  if  properly  obtained, 
will  greatly  increase  the  respect,  the  esteem  and 
affection  of  his  class.  If  a  teacher  cannot  succeed 
in  securing  the  obedience  of  a  scholar,  the  way  is 
hedged  up  for  doing  any  good  to  that  individual.  I 
think  the  remark  is  as  true  with  regard  to  the  Sab- 
bath School  class,  as  to  the  family-circle.  Every 
thing  goes  wrong  where  children  are  disobedient  and 
undisciplined.  The  point  which  the  teacher  will 
have  to  urge  the  hardest,  probably  will  be,  the 
habit  of  punctuality, — in  getting  the  lesson,  in  reciting 
it,  and  in  being  present  when  the  school  is  opened. 
And  let  every  teacher  understand  that  he  can  never 


96  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Third  habit,— self-improvement.  How  to  obtain  it. 

secure  this  habit  to  his  class,  unless  he  has  it  in  per- 
fection himself. 

3.  The  third  habit  which  I  would  mention,  is  that 
of  constantly  improving  the  mind  with  a  view  to 
teaching  your  class. 

One  thing  which  makes  all  teaching  so  weari- 
some, is  the  great  effort  made  at  the  moment  of 
giving  instruction  to  create  thought,  illustration,  and 
materials  by  which  to  excite  and  keep  up  an  interest. 
You  may  just  as  well  plunge  into  business,  and  expect 
to  create  capital  to  meet  your  engagements  from 
day  to  day,  as  to  expect  to  do  this.  You  must  lay 
up  materials  beforehand,  and  be  in  the  habit  of 
doing  so.  And  here,  too,  unless  I  am  careful,  I  shall 
send  you  off  on  a  wrong  track.  I  do  not  mean  that 
you  must  sit  down  and  read  Rollin's  ancient  history, 
or  the  voyages  and  travels  of  the  day,  for  the  sake 
of  finding  something  by  which  you  may  interest  your 
class ;  but  I  mean,  that  when  you  read  a  book, — 
when  you  meet  a  stranger,  when  you  hear  an  inter- 
esting conversation,  save  all  that  you  can.  It  will 
all  be  of  use  in  your  instructions.  Make  it  an  object 
to  cultivate  your  memory ;  for  without  a  good  memo- 
ry you  cannot  long  be  an  interesting  teacher.  Mon- 
taigne could  write  books  on  philosophy,  and  was  a 
man  of  great  learning ;  but  he  neglected  his  memory, 
till  he  could  not  call  his  own  servants  by  name,  and 
could  remember  nothing  which  was  not  written  down . 
in  his  memorandum-book.     Such  a  man,  though  he 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  97 

Memory  to  be  cultivated.       Children  not  to  be  hurried.       How  lay  plans. 

might  embody  the  learning  of  his  age,  would  never 
be  fit  to  teach  a  class  in  the  Sabbath  School.  See 
every  thing  at  which  you  look ; — hear  every  thing  to 
which  you  listen ;  and,  like  the  bee,  have  the  habit 
of  gathering  honey,  even  if  it  be  but  little,  from 
every  flower  with  which  you  meet.  Every  fragment 
of  knowledge,  every  illustration  of  truth,  every  de- 
lightful impression  which  you  receive,  will  aid  you  as 
a  teacher.  Aim  to  improve  from  week  to  week  in 
your  manner  of  teaching.  Do  not  hurry  children 
over  the  ground  faster  than  they  understand  every 
thing  as  they  advance.  Some  will  take  long  steps, 
and  expect  the  child  to  follow  and  take  steps  equally 
long.  Some  will  try  new  schemes, — find  they  can- 
not always  be  original,  and  soon  fall  back  into  the 
old  course.  Others  will  find  that  when  the  time  for 
teaching  comes  they  have  no  materials  on  hand,  and 
so  they  resolve,  in  despair,  to  resign.  Now  you  should 
neither  resign,  nor  yet  plod  on  in  the  same  old,  dull 
way.  Make  it  your  business  to  discover  the  different 
dispositions  of  your  class,  see  what  their  habits  are, — 
how  they  came  by  their  habits,  what  have  been  the 
defects  in  their  education,  and  study  by  what  means 
you  can  counteract  and  correct  those  habits  and  de- 
fects. This  will  put  your  own  mind  and  ingenuity  to 
work.  The  teacher  must  seek  for  self-improvementf 
if  he  would  do  good  in  the  Sabbath  School.  There 
are  but  three  thoughts  on  this  subject  which  I  would 
suggest  at  the  present  time. 
9 


93  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

First,— do  something  every  day.    Second, — read  judiciously.    Third,— reflect. 


1.  Lay  your  plans  to  improve  the  mind  by  studying 
a  little  every  day.  This  portion  of  time  may  be 
short, — probably  will  be — owing  to  your  business; 
but  let  it  be  improved.  Do  not  say,  '  I  will  study  two 
hours,— or  one  hour,' — but  that  you  will  daily  spend 
at  least  twenty  or  thirty  minutes  in  the  cultivation 
of  your  mind.  Have  a  particular  half-hour  selected, 
and  do  not  let  any  thing  shove  you  over  it.  Let  it 
be  the  time  of  day  when  nothing  can  cheat  you  out 
of  it.  One-fourth  part  of  an  hour  every  day,  dili- 
gently and  wisely  improved  in  self-cultivation,  will 
help  a  man  to  grow  in  wisdom. 

2.  Let  this  season  of  self-improvement  be  devoted 
to  the  most  judicious  reading.  The  mind  of  ages  is 
on  the  pages  of  books,  laid  up — and  a  little  digging 
will  give  you  gold.  Original  thinkers  are  the  minds 
with  which  you  should  come  in  contact.  Do  not  try 
to  read  much — too  many  pages, — but  make  every 
thought  your  own — so  completely  your  own,  that 
you  can  retain  it  through  life.  You  will,  of  course, 
use  your  influence  to  have  your  Sabbath  School  Li- 
brary contain  books  of  a  high  order. 

3.  Acquire  the  habit  of  reflection.  Without  so 
doing,  your  observations,  your  readings,  your  facts, 
your  conversations,  will  all  be  useless.  Who  would 
often  go  to  a  store  to  make  purchases,  where  the  goods 
were  thrown  in,  scattered,  heaped  up,  hardware  and 
crockery  together,  oil  and  linen,  muslins  and  groceries, 
Essences  and  tobacco, — all  there  indeed,  but  no  one 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  99 

Close  attention  necessary.  Power  of  a  single  remark. 

thing  at  hand,  and  no  power  of  saying  where  the 
thing  wanted  may  be  found  1  Make  your  own  mind 
the  laboratory  into  which  materials  are  gathered, 
and  where  they  are  analyzed  and  reduced  to  their 
proper  elements.  And  do  not  be  discouraged.  Cold 
wishes  will  not  discipline  your  mind ;  cold  wishes  will 
not  add  to  the  furniture  with  which  they  are  adorned ; 
but  once  acquire  the  habit  of  making  self-improve- 
ment, and  you  will  shortly  be  surprised  at  your  ad- 
vancement,— at  the  ease  with  which  you  advance, 
and  at  the  pleasures  connected  with  the  process. 
Teachers  will  complain  that  they  cannot  interest 
their  scholars;  or  that  the  scholars  leave  them  as 
soon  as  they  reach  a  certain  point ;  but  if  they  will 
faithfully  improve  themselves, — acquire  the  habit  of 
doing  it,  they  will  not  feel  these  discouragements. 
You  can  hardly  be  too  careful  in  cultivating  a  habit 
of  close  attention.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  able  to 
read  the  human  heart,  or  in  common  language,  un- 
derstand human  nature.  This  can  be  obtained  only 
by  close  and  careful  observation.  You  will  wish  to 
create  a  desire  for  thorough  study, — by  which  every 
thing  may  be  understood  as  the  child  proceeds.  How 
can  you  do  it  ?  You  will  wish  to  create  a  strong  love 
of  books,  and  a  desire  to  read.  This  will  be  an  im- 
mense blessing  to  the  child.  How  can  you  accom- 
plish this  1  You  will  need  to  know  how  much  good 
or  hurt  a  single  exhortation,  or  even  a  single  word 
may  do,  if  timely  or  untimely  used.     An  incident  in 


100  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Mrs.  Hemans.  The  mind  dislikes  to  think. 

the  life  of  Mrs.  Hemans  will  illustrate  this  point.  As 
a  child,  Mrs.  Hemans  was  an  object  of  admiration, 
and  almost  devotion,  for  her  extreme  beauty ;  her 
complexion  was  remarkably  brilliant ;  her  hair  long, 
curling,  and  golden.  Who  can  tell  how  little  or  how 
much  impression  passing  words,  carelessly  spoken, 
may  make  upon  one  so  sensitive !  One  lady  incau- 
tiously observed  in  her  hearing,  "  I  know  that  child 
is  not  made  for  happiness  ;  her  color  comes  and 
goes  too  fast !"  She  never  ibrgot  this  remark,  and 
would  mention  it,  as  having  caused  her  much  pain 
at  the  time  it  ivas  spoken. 

The  teacher  should  understand,  and  understand  it 
well,  that  there  is  scarcely  any  thing  so  painful  to 
the  human  mind  in  its  undisciplined  state,  as  think- 
ing. To  overcome  this  repugnance,  and  to  teach 
the  child  so  that  he  will  love  to  think,  is  perfection 
in  the  art  of  teaching.  Said  a  prisoner,  in  one  of 
our  new  State  Prisons,  where  a  chaplain  regularly 
preached  and  taught  them  from  the  Bible. — "  You 
do  not  understand  it.  [He  was  comparing  the  old 
prison,  which  he  preferred,  to  the  new.]  There,  by 
day  and  night,  it  was  hale  fellows,  well  met;  and 
here,  the  last  thing  at  night  is  prayer,  then  retire- 
ment, where  we  see  no  one  and  speak  to  no  one 
during  the  evening ;  then  go  to  bed,  but  cannot  go  to 
sleep ;  but  think,  think.  If  we  get  to  sleep,  and 
awake  in  the  night,  we  see  no  one,  and  hear  no  one, 
but  think,  think.    When  morning  comes,  and  we  go 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  101 

Third  habit,— patient  labor. 

out,  the  first  thing  is  prayer.  We  see  our  fellows, 
but  say  nothing ;  and  at  night,  again,  after  prayer, 
we  go  alone,  and  THINK,  THINK." 

3.  The  third  habit  to  be  cultivated  is  patient 
labor. 

The  remark  is  too  trite  to  be  dwelt  upon,  that 
nothing  of  value  can  be  obtained  in  this  life,  without 
labor.  You  need,  not  merely  the  power  to  compel 
yourself  at  times  to  sit  down  to  patient  labor  and 
drudgery,  but  you  need  the  habit,  so  that  it  may  be 
a  thing  of  course.  You  need  it  in  the  weekly  duty 
of  improving  your  mind,  and  in  getting  the  lesson 
to  be  taught  You  need  it  when  you  meet  the  class 
and  endeavor  to  instruct  them.  You  need  patience 
in  your  intercourse  with  your  fellow-teachers,  and  in 
the  thousand,  little,  nameless  trials  and  vexations  in- 
cident to  and  inseparable  from  the  duties  which 
return  upon  you  every  week.  You  will  not  be  sur- 
prised either,  if  you  find  mental  labor  and  patient 
habits  of  labor  somewhat  irksome  to  yourself  .at 
times ;  but  every  regular  return  and  performance  of 
any  duty  will  render  it  less  irksome,  till  it  becomes  a 
positive  pleasure.  The  very  penances  of  the  dark- 
ened Catholic,  we  are  informed,  if  regularly  per- 
formed, at. stated,  periodical  times,  soon  become  a 
part  of  the  devotee's  happiness,  and  he  is  lost  without 
them.  This  power  of  habit  is  one  of  the  greatest 
aids  to  good  men  in  all  their  efforts  at  self-discipline 
or  usefulness. 

9* 


102  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Fourth  habit,— watchfulness.  The  Quaker's  philosophy. 

4.  Cultivate  the  habit  of  watchfulness  over  your- 
self. 

We  can  see  many  imperfections  in  others, — even 
a  mote  in  the  eye.  We  should  remember  that  others 
are  as  quick  to  see  them  in  us ;  and  that  children,  of 
all  others,  are  quick  and  good  judges  of  character. 
You  have  not  a  single  habit,  good  or  bad,  with  which 
your  class  will  long  be  unacquainted.  If  you  are 
quick  and  irritable,  they  will  be  quick  to  see  it,  and 
what  is  far  worse,  will  be  long  in  losing  the  bad  im- 
pressions which  they  receive.  I  can  truly  say,  that 
no  impressions  of  my  own  childhood  remain  so  vivid 
and  so  deep,  as  those  received  during  two  winters, 
while  under  the  instructions  of  an  irritable  teacher. 
He  never  struck  me, — he  never  inflicted  any  pain 
upon  my  body,  and  yet  I  shall  carry  to  the  grave 
those  deep,  unpleasant  associations  and  feelings  which 
his  irritable  temper  created.  And  this  will  be  found 
to  be  the  testimony  of  not  a  few.  By  all  means, 
command  yourself,  and  keep  the  current  of  your  pas- 
sions quiet  and  even.  The  Quaker  who  said  that  he 
was  naturally  quick  and  passionate,  but  who  cured 
himself  entirely  by  always  speaking  in  a  low  tone, — 
as  he  who  could  command  the  tones  of  his  voice, 
could  command  his  passions, — had  not  a  little  of 
genuine  philosophy  in  his  theory.  You  will  always 
find  that  irritable  men  speak  loud ;  and  on  the  con- 
trary, when  you  hear  a  man  who  is  a  loud  talker, 
you  instinctively  associate  his  voice  with  a  quick  and 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  103 


Gravity  necessary.  Must  not  show  partiality. 

passionate  disposition.  Your  own  character  will  com- 
municate itself  to  your  class.  If  you  are  light  and 
trifling,  they  will  be  so ;  if  you  are  talkative,  they 
will  talk  much  and  think  little ;  if  you  are  irregular, 
they  will  be ;  if  you  forget  your  promises,  they  will 
forget  theirs. 

You  should  watch  over  yourself  also,  because  your 
usefulness  depends  upon  the  opinion  which  children 
entertain  of  you.  They  cannot  respect  a  man  who 
is  wanting  in  a  proper  degree  of  gravity ;  who  is  not 
far  above  them  in  knowledge  in  general,  and  in  a 
knowledge  of  the  lesson  in  particular;  and  who  is 
not  consistent  and  exemplary  in  all  his  deportment. 
Never  forget  that  you  meet  the  children  on  the  Sab- 
bath, and  that  yours  is  the  work  peculiar  to  that 
sacred  day.  Let  all  your  influence  be  hallowed. 
The  eyes  of  the  school  are  all  upon  you ;  and  not 
only  your  own  class,  but  the  whole  school,  watch  and 
weigh  your  character;  and  you  aid  in  giving  a 
coloring  to  the  whole  school.  The  parents  of  the 
children  too,  are  watching  you, — some  praying  for 
you, — that  you  may  be  able  to  lead  their  beloved 
child  to  God  and  to  holiness ;  others  looking  to  see  if 
there  be  really  any  thing  in  religion  above  a  mere 
form.  Of  this  they  judge  partly  by  seeing  you,  and 
still  more  by  seeing  the  character  which  you  are 
giving  to  their  child.  You  will  have '  some  children 
more  amiable  than  others ;  watch  yourself  that  you 
do  not  feel,  and  still  more,  that  you  do  not  show  par- 


104       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Fiftli  habit, — prayer. 


tiality.  This  is  a  delicate  part  of  your  duty.  It  is 
absolutely  impossible  to  love  all  alike ;  but  it  is  a 
duty  not  to  show  partiality  in  your  class.  This 
watchfulness  will  do  more  for  you  than  to  aid  you  in 
teaching  and  influencing  your  class.  It  will  help  you 
to  be  a  more  perfect  Christian, — it  will  make  you 
every  way  more  happy.  No  teacher  should  live 
without  self-examination,  and  that,  too,  at  stated 
times.  At  the  best,  this  is  a  season  none  too  plea- 
sant ;  but  if  you  can  review  the  Sabbath,  and  sec  that 
you  have  had  circumspection,  and  watchfulness  over 
yourself,  and  have  set  a  guard  around  your  conduct 
and  character,  as  a  Sunday  School  teacher,  you  will 
find  that  even  the  hour  of  self-examination  is  pleasant. 
It  is  always  delightful  to  feel  that  we  are  making 
progress  in  self-discipline. 

5.   The  habit  of  prayer. 

No  language  can  adequately  describe  the  effects 
of  converting  one  sinner  to  God, — the  effects  exhibited 
in  time  and  in  eternity.  And  the  teacher  should 
have  nothing  lower  as  his  standard  than  to  see  every 
child  committed  to  him  converted  to  God,  and  trained 
up  to  be  a  devoted  Christian.  Do  you  go  to  your 
class  with  less  interest  than  you  go  to  your  worldly 
business  1  Do  you  hear  the  lessons  as  a  task  ?  You 
may  be  sure  your  heart  is  not  in  the  work ;  and  you 
do  not  pray  over  it.  Do  you  feel  cold  or  indifferent 
towards  the  school,  or  towards  any  particular  pupil 
in  your  class  1    If  so,  you  do  not  pray  for  that  school 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACIIGR.  105 


Example  of  a  school. 


or  that  scholar.  You  cannot  pray  for  a  child  without 
feeling  a  deep  interest  in  his  welfare.  Do  you  labor 
year  after  year,  without  seeing  your  scholars  convert- 
ed to  God  1  The  reason  is  probably  to  be  found  in 
your  want  of  prayer.  Notice  the  following  curious 
fact.  *  A  writer  says  that  he  witnessed  a  revival  in  a 
Sabbath  School  of  which  he  was  once  a  member.  It 
was  principally  confined  to  those  between  the  ages 
of  seven,  and  twenty.  A  large  number  professed  an 
interest  in  Christ.  But  all  were  of  one  sex,  all  were 
girls.  Although  some  of  the  boys  were  considerably 
impressed,  yet  not  a  single  individual  of  them  was 
known  to  have  been  converted.  One  after  another 
of  the  little  girls  gave  her  heart  to  the  Redeemer, — 
while  the  boys,  members  of  the  same  families, — their 
brothers,  lived  on  in  sin,  the  enemies  of  God.  What 
does  this  mean  ?  How  is  this  to  be  accounted  for  ? 
Does  not  the  following  fact  explain  the  mystery? 
The  teachers  of  the  little  girls  came  apparently  from 
their  closets,  from  the  very  presence,  the  audience- 
chamber  of  the  Most  High.  Their  hearts  seemed 
glowing  with  love  for  their  Savior,  burdened  with  a 
sense  of  the  worth  of  the  soul,  and  the  immense  re- 
sponsibility which  rested  upon  them.  They  warned 
and  entreated  their  scholars  on  the  Sabbath,  and  re- 
peated their  instructions  during  the  week.  A  rich 
blessing  followed, — a  blessing  proportioned  to  the 
fidelity  of  the  teachers.* 

No  one  can  discipline  his  own  heart,  and  grow  in 


106       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Power  over  temptation  by  this  habit.     Heart  not  be  engaged  without  prayer. 


Christian  character,  without  prayer.  No  one  can  ac- 
complish any  thing,  either  good  or  great,  without  it. 
You  should  be  a  man  of  prayer  for  yourself,  your 
class,  the  school,  and  for  the  world.  You  will  be  in 
no  danger  of  over-estimating  the  effects  of  the  habit 
of  daily  prayer  upon  your  own  character.  I  look  at 
it  not  merely  as  a  means  of  drawing  down  blessings 
upon  your  labors,  but  as  a  thing  of  inestimable  value 
to  yourself.  Seasons  of  temptation, — of  luke-warm- 
ness, — of  backsliding,  will  come, — the  love  of  many 
will  wax  cold, — the  light  within  your  own  heart  will 
burn  dim, — and  nothing  but  the  habit  of  daily  prayer 
will  make  you  safe.  Peter,  probably,  had  not  been  in 
the  habit  of  prayer  before  his  conversion.  His  habits 
were  not  fixed,  and  therefore,  in  the  hour  of  tempta- 
tion, he  sinned ; — while  Daniel,  who,  for  many  years, 
even  from  his  youth,  had  been  a  man  of  prayer,  and 
had  formed  habits  of  prayer,  withstood  temptations 
incomparably  greater  than  those  which  overwhelmed 
Peter. 

Let  it  be  most  distinctly  impressed  on  the  mind, 
that  we  never  accomplish  any  thing  in  religion  in 
which  the  heart  is  not  deeply  engaged;  and  the 
heart  is  never  engaged,  when  the  closet  is  neglected. 
A  teacher  never  can  enjoy  teaching,  or  do  good  to 
his  class,  who  is  not  habitually  at  the  throne  of  grace 
at  stated  periods.  The  following  is  invariably  the 
result  of  the  labors  of  a  prayerless  teacher.  A  visiter 
was  sent  out  to  call  upon  the  families  represented  in 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  107 

Dialogue  with  a  scholar.  How  to  cure  such  evils. 

the  school.  In  the  course  of  his  calls,  the  following 
conversation  took  place  between  him  and  a  little  girl. 

"  Do  you  attend  Sunday  School  V 

"Yes,  Sir." 

"  How  are  you  pleased  with  the  school  V9 

"  Not  so  well  as  I  have  been." 

"What  is  the  matter?" 

"  I  have  a  new  teacher,  and  I  do  not  like  her  so 
well  as  my  old  teacher." 

"  You  will  probably  become  better  satisfied  after 
you  have  become  better  acquainted  with  the  method 
of  your  teacher's  instructions." 

"  I  do  not  believe  I  shall  ever  love  my  new  teacher 
so  well  as  I  did  my  old  one." 

"  Perhaps  the  fault  is  in  you." 

"  Perhaps  so ; — but  I  cannot  love  her  so  well  as  I 
did  the  old  one." 

"  What  can  be  the  cause  of  this  difference  in  your 
feelings  V9 

"  My  former  teacher  took  a  great  deal  of  interest 
in  me ;  and  while  hearing  me  recite,  took  great  pains 
to  explain  every  thing  in  my  lesson,  so  that  I  could 
understand  it;  and  after  the  lesson  was  ended,  she 
spent  the  time  in  reading  something  to  the  class 
which  is  useful,  or  in  telling  us  how  we  ought  to  live. 
But  my  present  teacher  just  hears  my  lesson,  appears 
distant,  seems  to  have  but  little  interest  in  the  class, 
and  as  soon  as  the  lesson  is  closed,  she  leaves  the  class 
for  another  part  of  the  house." 


108       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Third  requisite,— humility.  Tests  of  humility. 


Such  cases  as  the  above  would  occur  but  seldom, 
if  our  teachers  were  habituated  to  prayer  from  day 
to  day,  and  always  remembered  their  class  in  their 
prayers. 

I  return  from  the  habits  of  the  teacher,  to  consider 
briefly  the  remaining  qualifications  which  do  not 
come  under  the  general  head  of  habits. 

3.  Humility  is  a  most  desirable  qualification  in  a 
teacher. 

The  teacher  has  to  deal  with  the  heart ;  and  that 
is  so  universally  and  naturally  proud,  that  it  does  not 
love  to  admit  any  advances  but  those  of  hu- 
mility. The  humble  man  can  always  have  access  to 
any  man's  heart;  while  the  proud  or  vain  man  is 
uniformly  shut  out.  In  the  business  of  teaching  in 
the  Sabbath  School,  you  will  need  not  merely  the 
appearance  of  humility,  but  the  thing  itself,  if  you 
would  feel  happy.  Without  this  grace,  you  will  be 
in  danger  of  feeling  that  the  Superintendent  or  the 
teachers  do  not  do  right, — they  usurp  authority,  or 
they  violate  rights,  or  they  misuse  you ;  that  you  do 
not  have  your  proper  place, — the  class  you  have  is 
one  of  the  lowest,  poorest  in  the  school, — perhaps  the 
most  uninteresting  of  all.  Why  should  that  class  be 
given  to  you  1  Another  teacher  is  more  popular,  more 
noticed,  more  thought  of  than  you,  and  pride  tells 
you  that  you  are  almost  a  martyr  to  injustice.  If 
you  are  constantly  thinking  of  yourself,  wanting 
praise,  unhappy  without  it,  talking  about  yourself, — 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  109 

Jeremy  Taylor. 

giving  hints  of  your  own  estimable  qualities ;  if  you 
use  stratagems  to  obtain  praise,  such  as  inquiring 
about  your  faults  in  order  to  learn  your  excellencies, 
— if  you  find  yourself  constantly  consoling  yourself 
with  the  thought  that  you  are  not  appreciated,  and 
that  you  are  of  more  consequence  than  others  seem 
to  think  you  are ; — if  you  are  pained  when  others 
receive  praise  in  your  presence,  and  feel  disposed  to 
detract  from  their  merits,  perhaps  by  speaking  dis- 
paragingly of  them ;  if  you  find  yourself  comparing 
yourself  with  others  greatly  to  your  own  advantage, 
if  you  feel  ready  to  excuse  every  fault  in  yourself,  to 
palliate  and  defend, — you  lack  that  humility  which 
is  essential  to  the  comfort,  the  happiness,  and  the 
usefulness,  of  the  Sabbath  School  teacher.  Let  the 
sentiment  so  beautifully  and  quaintly  expressed  by 
Taylor  be  engraven  on  the  memory ;  — "  Give 
God  thanks  for  every  weakness,  deformity,  and  im- 
perfection, and  accept  it  as  a  favor  and  grace  of 
God,  and  an  instrument  to  resist  pride  and  nurse  hu- 
mility ;  ever  remembering,  that  when  God,  by  giving 
thee  a  crooked  back,  hath  also  made  thy  spirit  stoop, 
or  less  vain,  thou  art  more  ready  to  enter  the  narrow 
gate  of  heaven,  than  by  being  straight,  and  standing 
upright,  and  thinking  highly.  Thus  the  Apostles 
rejoiced  in  infirmities,  not  moral,  but  natural  and  ac- 
cidental, in  their  being  beaten  and  whipt  like  slaves, 
in  their  nakedness  and  poverty." 
10 


110  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Fourth  requisite,— benevolence  to  men. 

4.  Benevolence  to  the  souls  of  men  is  an  indispen 
sable  requisite  to  a  good  Sabbath  School  teacher. 

No  one  who  has  not  made  the  trial  can  know  how 
many  little  trials  and  vexations  attend  the  faithful 
teacher.  He  meets  with  ignorance  and  stupidity,  de- 
plorable, and  apparently  incurable ;  with  habits  per- 
verse and  corrupt,  which  have  been  woven  into  all 
the  education  of  the  children ; — with  dispositions 
which  seem  to  have  no  right  side ;  and  yet  he  must 
love  these  children,  or  he  can  do  them  no  good.  He 
must  love  them  all,  for  however  unlovely  and  un- 
amiable  the  child  may  be,  he  will  never  let  the 
teacher  do  him  any  good,  till  he  is  sure  that  he  loves 
him.  You  must  not  consider  that  class  as  some  do,  a 
company  but  little  better  than  apes,  whose  mischiev- 
ous pranks  are  to  be  the  source  of  constant  misery 
and  vexation.  You  must  have  the  confidence  and  the 
affection  of  your  class,  or  you  can  do  them  no  good. 
In  order  to  this,  you  must  have  an  unquenchable  love 
for  the  souls  of  men, — a  love  like  that  of  Christ, 
which  many  waters  cannot  quench,  nor  floods  drown. 
This  will  lead  you  to  overlook  the  many  little  vexa- 
tions which  beset  you ;  just  as  a  man  who  is  bent  on 
reducing  and  subduing  his  farm,  for  the  sake  of  the 
gains  hereafter  to  be  received,  learns  to  forget  the 
trees,  the  stones,  the  roots,  and  the  brush  which  have 
to  be  removed  before  he  can  effect  the  object  at 
which  he  aims.  This  love  to  the  souls  of  men  will 
render  you  elastic,  and  yet  firm  in  your  labors,  easy 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  Ill 

Benevolence  should  be  warm.  Contracted  feeling  natural. 

of  access  to  your  scholars,  and  ready  to  communicate 
information  and  hints  to  your  fellow  teachers,  or  to 
receive  it  from  them.  Every  hint  you  will  receive 
with  gratitude;  and  every  ray  of  light  which  you 
receive,  you  will  reflect  upon  the  path  in  which  your 
class  are  walking,  that  thereby  they  may  be  led  to 
heaven.  Any  man  who  is  not  warmly  affected  to  the 
souls  of  men  should  not  be  a  teacher.  You  should 
have  so  much  of  this  interest  that  you  are  led  to  the 
duties  of  your  station  by  the  bent  of  your  own  in- 
clinations. The  zeal  should  be  a  true  zeal  to  labor 
for  Jesus  Christ, — the  oil  that  feeds  the  flame  should 
be  of  heavenly  origin,  and  not  the  result  of  an  ardent 
temperament,  or  a  splendid  imagination.  Your  piety 
should  be  constant  as  well  as  burning.  You  should 
know  that  you  are  capable  of  great  self-denial,  and 
can  be  regular  in  all  your  habits.  You  need  not 
possess  "  the  razor's  edge,  but  must  have  the  blade 
of  a  well-tempered  knife."  Divest  your  character 
of  all  sloth,  effeminacy,  and  indulgence. 

We  are  too  apt  to  feel  that  the  object  of  life  is  to 
move  in  our  own  little  circle,  enjoy  the  full  cup  of 
mercies  which  God  bestows,  and  to  creep  into  heaven 
at  last, — a  kind  of  selfishness  which  has  no  example, 
and  no  parallel  in  the  lives  of  Christ  and  his  Apos- 
tles, and  no  countenance  in  the  Bible.  We  look  for- 
ward to  the  millennial  day, — believing  in  the  explicit 
language  of  prophecy,  that  *  truth  and  mercy,  the 
peace  and  righteousness  of  our  Messiah's  kingdom, 


112       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

What  the  Christian  should  be.        The  teacher  should  have  noble  views. 

whatever  temporary  checks  they  may  suffer,  shall,  in 
the  end,  overcome  all  opposition;  and  though  the 
river  of  God  may,  for  a  time,  be  discolored  and  pol- 
luted, by  the  pernicious  soil  over  which  it  rolls  its 
tide,  yet  it  shall,  at  last,  free  itself  from  every  foreign 
mixture,  and  send  forth  its  ten  thousand  pure  streams, 
to  gladden  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.'  Such  is  our 
belief;  but  so  far  from  feeling  that  we  have  individ- 
ually a  part  to  bear  in  the  great  work,  we  lay  our 
head  on  the  pillow  of  down,  and  feel  it  hard  that 
any  one  should  even  knock  at  our  door  and  ask  for 
bread.  We  want  our  missionaries  to  take  their  lives 
in  their  hands,  and  go  and  wear  down  and  die  among 
the  heathen ;  we  want  our  ministers  to  be  in  season 
and  out  of  season, — to  labor  in  the  study,  and  bring 
no  oil  into  the  sanctuary  which  has  not  been  beaten, 
while  we  lay  out  work  enough  for  them  out  of  the 
pulpit  to  consume  all  their  time  and  strength ;  but 
when  we  come  to  act  for  the  souls  of  the  young,  and 
for  the  conversion  of  the  world  in  the  Sabbath  School, 
we  are  apt  to  feel  that  a  frozen  heart,  a  dead  piety, 
narrow  views  and  stinted  labor,  will  do.  It  is  not  so. 
I  know  the  field  is  comparatively  a  humble  one,  and 
that  ambition  would  not  go  there, — for  the  crown 
which  she  seeks  is  not  there.  You  may  not  be  able 
to  train  up  an  Apostle ;  but  you  may  prevent  one 
from  becoming  a  Judas.  Had  Mahomet,  when  a 
child,  been  placed  under  the  care  of  a  faithful  devo- 
ted Sabbath  School  teacher,  who  can  believe  he 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  113 

Conclusion. 

would  ever  have  been  what  he  did  become  1  The 
fact  is,  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  great  learning  is 
not  demanded,  great  and  striking  and  splendid 
talents  are  not  necessary,  in  order  to  be  useful,  to 
bring  souls  to  Christ,  and  to  win  the  crown  of  life, 
but  holy,  devoted,  disinterested  piety  is  the  great 
thing  needed.  This  will  bring  wisdom  from  above ; 
this  will  overcome  difficulties,  bear  up  under  dis- 
couragements, enable  us  to  see  the  fruit  of  our  labors 
here,  and  to  anticipate  their  reward  hereafter.  Let 
me  invite  you,  as  we  close  this  chapter,  to  unite  with 
me  in  the  beautiful  prayer  of  a  glowing  heart.  "  And 
thou,  Lord  Jesus,  afflicted  Father  of  the  Christian 
name,  blessed  Martyr  of  humanity,  blameless  Pattern, 
universal  Priest,  unerring  Teacher,  omnipotent  King 
of  truth,  of  righteousness,  and  of  peace,  deign  from 
thy  glorious  throne  to  smile  on  this  weak  attempt, 
and  to  accept  this  poor  offering !  It  is  a  tribute,  for 
the  life  thou  hast  given,  for  the  blood  thou  hast  shed, 
and  for  the  joyous  hopes  thou  hast  inspired,  to  cheer, 
and  to  direct  our  mortal  pilgrimage.  Meek  Spring 
of  heavenly  Wisdom, — boundless  Ocean  of  universal, 
ardent,  unprovoked,  and  undiscou raged  charity,  pour 
thy  Spirit  into  my  breast,  and  into  the  breasts  of  all 
thy  servants  whom  I  here  address.  Teach  them  to 
interest  themselves  in  this  blessed  work*,  as  becomes 
men,  who  are  distinguished  by  thy  venerable  name, 
and  honored  by  the  ministration  of  thy  glorious  Gos- 
pel !  Baptize  us  all  with  the  fire  of  that  love  which 
10* 


114       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Beautiful  prayer. 


is  stronger  than  death !  Delightfully  oppress  our  gra- 
titude with  the  everlasting  mountains  of  thy  benefits, 
until  every  sentiment  of  frail  mortality  be  suppressed, 
— until  faith  give  us  the  victory  over  the  world, — 
over  life  and  death, — until  love  compel  us  to  exclaim, 
Yea,  doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things  but  dross  that 
I  may  win  Christ ;  and  I  am  willing  not  only  to 
suffer  bonds,  but  to  die  for  the  sake  of  my  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  by  whom  I  am  crucified  unto  the  world  and 
the  world  unto  me" 


CHAPTER  IV. 


OTHER  MEANS  OF  DOING  GOOD  BESIDES  TEACHING. 

It  is  no  dim  mark  of  the  wisdom  of  God,  that 
since  he  has  planted  in  the  human  soul  a  love  of 
variety  and  a  desire  of  change, — the  present  never 
satisfying  the  heart, — he  has  made  abundant  provis- 
ion in  all  the  departments  of  life  to  meet  these  wants. 
The  employments  of  life,  so  wearing  upon  the  spirit, 
must  be  checked  and  broken  up  every  day  by  sleep, 
— the  cares  of  life  must  be  laid  aside  for  food  and  to 
supply  the  wants  of  the  body ; — the  change  of  sea- 
sons must  change  the  employments,  and,  in  some  mea- 
sure, the  dress  of  every  family.  From  childhood  to 
the  grave,  provision  is  made  for  us  to  pass  through 
changes  almost  infinite.  The  farmer,  whose  employ- 
ment is  more  necessary  to  the  sustenance  of  the 
world  than  any  other,  would  find  it  drudgery,  and 
life  itself  a  dreary,  prolonged  misery,  were  it  not  for 
the  constant  changes  in  his  business.  As  it  is,  this 
constant  change,  the  new  objects  continually  coming 

115 


116       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

God  lias  provided  variety  for  man.         Factories.         Useful  to  ministers. 

up,  render  his  employment  one  of  the  most  delightful 
and  bewitching  possible ;  and  I  doubt  not  that  Wash- 
ington had  more  happiness  and  saw  more  charms  in 
life  while  making  his  experiments,  inventing  his 
tools,  and  managing  his  farms,  than  while  he  occu- 
pied the  chair  of  state,  the  admiration  of  his  country 
and  of  the  world.  This  variety,  incident  and  neces- 
sary to  every  kind  of  business,  ought  to  be  regarded 
as  one  of  those  decided  marks  of  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  God,  which  he  has  devised  to  keep  the 
mind  from  being  too  weary,  and  the  habits  of  the 
soul  from  becoming  monotonous,  and  itself  torpid.  Is 
it  not  an  admitted  fact,  that  when  a  man  does  but 
one  thing, — such,  for  example,  as  grinding  the  glasses 
for  the  lens  of  a  telescope,  from  sun  to  sun,  and  from 
year  to  year,  from  childhood  to  old  age,  that  such  a 
man  is  not  cheerful,  intelligent,  or  in  our  sense  of  the 
word,  happy  ?  All  elasticity  of  the  soul  is  naturally 
destroyed  by  monotonous  labor.  The  more  laborious 
and  responsible  the  duties  and  station,  so  much 
greater  is  the  need  of  variety  to  relieve  the  mind  and 
feelings.  A  minister  of  the  Gospel  would  wear  out 
shortly,  were  it  not  that  God  has  connected  variety 
with  his  office.  Were  he  to  write  all  the  time,  he 
would  become  exhausted  and  nervous.  Were  he  to 
speak  all  the  time,  he  would  either  destroy  the  mind 
by  keeping  it  keyed  up  too  high,  or  become  insuffer- 
ably dull.  Were  he  to  visit  all  the  time,  his  mind 
would  be  too  undisciplined  to  allow  him  to  be  even  a 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  117 

Useful  to  the  Sabbath  School  teacher.     First  means  of  doing  good,— visiting. 

tolerable  preacher.  It  is  from  the  fact  that  these 
various  duties  are  connected  so  as  to  relieve  tedium, 
and  to  call  different  powers  and  sympathies  into  exer- 
cise, that' the  pastoral  office  perfects  the  character 
of  a  minister,  making  all  parts  more  symmetrical  and 
well-proportioned,  than  any  other  station  in  the 
ministry. 

These  remarks  apply  in  their  full  force  to  the  du- 
ties of  the  Sabbath  School  teacher.  His  great  duty 
is  to  instruct  his  class,  but  collateral  with  this,  there 
are  other  duties  equally  necessary,  and  equally  im- 
portant to  render  his  character  complete,  and  the 
sphere  of  his  usefulness  full.  They  will  add  equally 
to  his  happiness  and  usefulness.  I  propose,  then,  in 
this  chapter,  to  mention  some  of  the  collateral  means 
of  doing  good,  which  the  teacher  has  in  his  power. 

1.  A  regular  system  of  visiting  the  families  to 
which  the  scholars  in  your  class  severally  belong. 

You  have  seen  friends  become  cold,  distant,  and 
finally  break  away,  and  never  again  become  recon- 
ciled to  each  other.  You  have  seen  husband  and 
wife  change,  revile  and  hate  each  other,  separate, 
while  every  year  only  seemed  to  render  their  enmity 
more  intense.  The  link  once  broken  between  hus- 
band and  wife  can  Seldom  be  mended.  But  you  do 
not  often  see  children  and  parents  becoming  enemies. 
Let  the  child  be  deformed  and  diseased,  and  it  does 
not  wean  him  from  the  love  of  his  parents ;  let  him 
become  an  idiot,  and  their  love  will  not  change ;  let 


118  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

A  powerful  principle  brought  into  exercise.  Trust  committed  to  the  teacher. 

him  become  vile,  and  they  will  throw  the  mantle  of 
charity  over  him,  and  still  encircle  him  in  the  bright- 
ness of  hope ;  let  him  leave  his  home  and  herd  with 
the  vile,  and  throw  away  all  that  is  lovely  or  valua- 
ble, and  they  will  still  cling  to  him.  And  even  when 
he  is  so  degraded  that  he  feeds  with  the  swine  in  the 
field,  on  the  first  appearance  of  his  return,  how- 
ever poor  and  wretched,  the  father  sees  him  afar  off, 
and  runs  to  meet  him, — to  fall  on  his  neck,  and  to  call 
him  his  son.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  wear  out  or  to 
annihilate  this  heaven-planted  love  between  parent 
and  child.  And  it  is  the  existence  of  this  love  which 
gives  the  Sabbath  School  teacher  such  power.  In 
committing  his  children  to  you,  the  father  commits 
his  highest  hopes, — the  mother  her  richest  treasure. 
It  is  like  a  deed  by  which  they  commit  their  all  to 
you.  Does  not  the  Apostle  recognize  this  principle, 
and  appeal  to  it,  when  he  says,  that  God,  who  spared 
not  his  only-begotten  Son,  will  with  him  freely  give 
us  all  things  ?  By  having  the  children  put  into  your 
hands,  you  have  a  means  of  doing  good  to  those  pa- 
rents and  to  their  family,  unspeakably  great.  You 
wish  to  know  the  influences,  under  which,  this  and  that 
child  has  thus  far  been  placed.  A  visit  to  his  parents 
will  help  you  to  understand  them.  You  wish  to  have 
this  and  that  trait  of  character  corrected.  The 
parents  either  do  not  see  the  faults,  or  know  not  how 
to  correct  them.  A  few  hints  from  you  may  aid  them 
greatly.     Perhaps  the  family  are  not  in  the  habit  of 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  119 


Usefulness  of  visits.  Illustrated  by  a  physician. 

going  to  the  house  of  God.  You  may,  by  a  careful 
use  of  your  influence,  lead  them  there.  They  may 
have  notions  and  impressions  concerning  your  school, 
or  concerning  religion,  which  counteract  all  that  you 
can  do  on  the  Sabbath.  A  few  visits  may  remove 
all  these  impressions.  They  may  be  bringing  up  their 
children  in  idleness,  ignorance,  and  sin:  and  your 
counsels  may  alter  the  whole  course  of  conduct  in 
this  respect  You  can  see  their  condition,  and  shortly, 
can  place  in  their  hands  a  tract,  or  something  of  the 
kind,  which  will  exactly  meet  the  evil  which  you 
wish  to  correct  Knowing  the  habits  of  the  family, 
you  can  aid  the  child  in  selecting  such  books  as  will 
be  useful  at  home,  and  encourage  him  to  rea<$  or  to 
have  them  read  at  home.  If  you  can  once  gain  the 
confidence  of  the  child,  the  way  is  open,  and  it  will 
be  easy  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  parents ;  and 
when  that  is  gained,  it  will  add  to  your  former  influ- 
ence over  the  child.  A  physician  once  said  to  me, 
that  he  had  a  patient  in  whose  cure  he  could  make 
no  progress.  Every  visit  found  him  in  a  new  condi- 
tion, and  with  new  symptoms.  Every  medicine  pre- 
scribed seem  to  work  by  a  new  and  unheard-of  rule. 
At  length  the  physician  set  himself  to  work  to  find 
out  the  difficulty.  It  was  this :  the  mother  of  the 
patient  took  it  into  her  head  that  the  prescriptions 
of  the  physician  were  too  powerful  for  the  constitu- 
tion of  her  child,  and  in  order  to  counteract  their 
mischievous  tendency,  she  gave  some  powerful  nos- 


120  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

.  Visiting  should  be  done  regularly.  A  caution. 

trum  soon  after  taking  the  medicine,  as  an  antidote. 
It  is  just  so  with  many  children.  Their  parents  are 
constantly  neutralizing  all  that  you  do  on  the  Sab- 
bath. This  evil  can  be  met  and  removed  only  by 
your  visiting  the  family.  I  would  recommend  that 
you  visit  regularly  once  a  month,  every  child  in  your 
class, — even  if  your  call  is  but  short.  It  should  make 
no  difference  with  you  whether  the  parents  are  rich 
or  poor, — high  or  low.  All  who  are  willing  to  com- 
mit their  children  to  you  will  be  glad  to  see  you, 
and  will  be  grateful  for  the  interest  you  take  in 
the  welfare  of  their  children.  In  addition  to  this, 
you  ought  to  call  upon  every  child  who  is  absent, 
beforfc  the  Sabbath  following.  The  child  may  be 
sick,  and  in  that  case  he  will  be-  glad  to  see  you. 
He  may  have  fallen  into  bad  company,  and  in  that 
case  you  ought  at  once  to  see  him.  He  may  have 
deceived  his  parents,  and  in  that  case  they  ought  to 
know  it.  I  have  never  known  other  than  a  good 
school,  where  the  rule  was  invariably  practised, 
that  every  child  who  is  absent  from  the  school,  shall 
be  visited  during  the  following  week.  I  cannot  too 
strenuously  urge  its  importance.  But  be  careful  not 
to  have  these  calls  to  inquire  after  delinquencies,  seem 
like  duns,  as  a  creditor  calls  upon  a  debtor,  when  the 
visit  is  disagreeable  to  both  parties.  Let  there  be  so 
much  of  heart  in  all  your  intercourse  with  parents, 
that  they  shall  see  that  you  seek  only  the  real  weir 
fare  of  their  child.     If  possible,  always  have  some- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  121 

Plea  of  not  having  time,— considered.        Get  the  good-will  of  the  family. 

thing  on  your  mind  interesting  to  communicate,  and 
let  all  your  conversation,  if  practicable,  be  in  the 
presence  of  the  children.  After  one  or  two  visits, 
you  will  never  feel  at  a  loss  how  to  make  your  visjt 
interesting.  For  the  convenience  of  these  visits,  the 
Superintendent  ought  to  have  regard  to  the  propriety 
of  having  the  same  class  dwell  in  the  same  part  of 
the  parish,  as  nearly  as  possible. 

Unless  you  are  really  conscientious  in  all  that  you 
do,  you  will  be  in  danger  of  neglecting  this  system 
of  visiting  under  the  plea  that  you  have  not  time.  In 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  this  plea  will  not  be  received 
by  the  Great  Head  of  the  church.  A  Superintend- 
ent, speaking  of  his  school,  says,  "  visiting,  in  many 
instances,  is  faithfully  attended  to ;  but  in  a  few  in- 
stances, almost  entirely  neglected.  One  teacher,  who 
is  an  apprentice,  and  has  to  labor  till  nine  o'clock 
every  evening,  manages  to  visit  nine  scholars  a  week, 
— while  others,  who  are  not  half  so  much  confined, 
plead  that  they  have  no  time  to  do  so.  Need  I  say 
he  has  a  full  and  interesting  class  1  Oh !  that  there 
were  more  whose  hearts  were  as  much  in  the  work ! 
We  should  no  longer  hear  of  empty  seats  and  droop- 
ing schools."  Were  all  our  teachers  equally  prompt 
and  faithful,  what  a  spectacle  would  our  schools  pre- 
sent !  But  does  each,  on  an  average,  atfbrd  one  such 
teacher  1 

On  making  these  visits,  the  first  thing  desirable,  is 
to  get  the  good-will  of  the  parents.  This  you  will 
11 


122  the:  sabbath  school  teacher. 


Invite  parents  into  the  school.  Admirable  features. 

invariably  do,  if  you  are  kind  and  courteous,  if  you 
are  mild,  and  above  all,  if  you  are  sincere,  and  with- 
out guile.  In  these  visits,  from  time  to  time,  you  will 
give  such  hints  as  will  aid  the  parents  in  co-operating 
with  you  for  the  good  of  their  child.  I  would  respect- 
fully, but  earnestly  urge  the  parents  to  visit  the 
school.  If  you  can  get  them  to  come  and  see  the 
school  once  in  three  or  four  months,  you  will  find  that 
such  visits  will  increase  their  interest  in  the  school 
more  than  any  thing  else  which  you  can  do.  They 
will  see  the  system, — see  the  children  happy, — see 
all  the  teachers  interested  and  laboring  for  their  good. 
It  will  do  the  children  good ;  for  every  child  loves  the 
approbation  of  his  parents,  and  their  manifestation  of 
interest  in  his  welfare  will  ever  stimulate  him  to 
greater  effort.  The  highest  motive  which  a  child  can 
have,  before  his  heart  is  renewed  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  to  do  well,  is  the  approbation  of  his  parents. 
Some  of  those  parents  whom  you  thus  invite  to  see 
the  school,  are  praying  people ;  and  they  will  pray 
more  fervently  for  you  in  consequence  of  every  such 
visit ;  some  of  them  have  never  attended  to  the  sub- 
ject of  religion,  and  they  will  here  see  it  in  active 
operation.  The  teachers,  the  scholars,  the  parents, 
will  all  be  benefited  by  such  visits  of  the  parents. 
One  of  the  most  admirable  features  in  the  Sabbath 
School  system  is,  that  it  gives  the  teacher  such  super- 
vision over  the  moral  education  of  each  scholar ;  and 
through  the  child,  opens  such  a  wide  field  for  influence 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  123 


Second  means  of  doing  good,— Library.  First  use  of  the  Library. 


upon  the  family  in  which  the  child  lives.  Let  no 
pressure  of  business,  no  calls  of  pleasure,  no  plead- 
ings for  ease,  lead  you  to  neglect  this  most  important 
part  of  your  duties  and  privileges. 

2.  Making  a  proper  use  of  the  Library. 

There  seem  to  me  to  be  three  points  in  regard  to 
the  Library  of  a  Sabbath  School,  which  ought  briefly 
to  be  noticed :  viz.  its  necessity, — materials^of  ivhich 
it  is  composed, — and  the  best  method  of  using  it. 
Upon  each  of  these  points  I  feel  bound  to  say  a  few 
words. 

1.  The  necessity  of  a  Library. 

Sabbath  Schools  have  been  established  without 
Libraries,  and  by  proper  effort,  may  do  good;  but 
they  soon  drag  heavily,  and  droop.  Others  have  very 
poor  Libraries,  and  the  teachers  cannot  see  the  need 
of  having  them  made  good  and  complete.  Let  me 
tell  you  what  a  good  Library,  properly  managed,  will 
generally  do. 

(a.)  It  will  create  a  taste  for  reading. 

You  go  into  some  families,  and  the  parents  will  tell 
you  that  their  children  "  do  not  love  books, — do  not 
take  to  books,— or  do  not  take  to  learning :"  in  other 
words,  their  children  have  no  taste  for  books.  The 
parents  think  it  is  a  kind  of  destiny.  Their  children 
are  doomed  to  be  comparatively  ignorant,  while  some 
families  which  they  can  name,  are  growing  up  fond 
of  books.  Now  all  the  destiny  there  is  about  this,  is, 
that  the  children  do  not  have  suitable  books.     Any 


124       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Creates  a  taste  for  reading.  Second  use,— supplies  the  destitute. 

child  and  every  child  will  love  books,  if  you  will  put 
suitable  books  into  its  hands  before  it  leaves  the  cra- 
dle. But  many  families  have  no  such  books, — feel  as 
if  it  was  money  thrown  away  to  buy  them.  The 
child  sees  nothing  but  the  big  Bible,  perhaps  a  volume 
of  Sermons,  an  old  Geography,  or  a  few  Newspapers, 
— these  constitute  the  library  of  the  house,  and  is  it 
any  wonder  that  there  is  no  taste  for  reading '(  Any 
wonder  that  every  association  connected  with  a  book, 
is  gloomy,  and  almost  painful  I  Now  the  Library  of 
the  Sabbath  School  meets  this  very  difficulty; — it 
furnishes  reading  suited  to  the  child's  capacity, — 
deepens  the  impression  by  cuts  and  pictures, — and" 
creates,  gradually,  in  him,  a  confidence  that  even  he 
can  master  the  contents  of  a  book ;  and  when  this  is 
once  done,  the  child  has  acquired  a  taste  for  reading. 
This  acquisition,  I  hardly  need  say,  will  be  a  treasure 
to  him.  The  happiness,  the  respectability,  and  I  had 
almost  said,  the  salvation  of  a  child,  are  near  being 
insured,  when  once  he  has  acquired  a  decided  taste 
for  reading.  Every  Library  should  be  selected  with 
this  in  view. 

(b.)  It  will  supply  those  with  books  who  otherwise 
would  never  have  them. 

I  speak  not  of  those  destitute  parts  of  the  world, 
such  as  new  settlements,  and  nations  emerging  from 
heathenism,  where  a  book  is  a  rarity ; — but  of  our 
most  favored  portions  of  country.  Every  parish  and 
every  school  will  contain  families  too  poor,  or  too 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  125 

Third  use,— occupies  vacant  hours.  Fourth  use,— creates  and  develops  genius. 

ignorant,  or  too  parsimonious,  to  procure  books  for 
their  children.  Thousands  and  thousands  are  now 
reading  the  books  of  the  Sabbath  School,  who  would 
otherwise  be  entirely  destitute.  A  Library  owned  by 
a  Sabbath  School,  answers  almost  as  good  a  purpose 
as  having  each  family  own  it ; — and  in  cases  where 
filth  and  ignorance  prevail,  even  better.  It  carries 
light  to  all, — quenches  the  thirst  of  all,  and  goes 
where  nothing  else  can  go. 

(c.)  A  Library  occupies  the  vacant  hours  of  chil- 
dren. 

I  have  already  said  so  much  on  the  importance  of 
habits,  that  I  am  almost  afraid  to  use  the  word  again ; 
and  yet  when  the  question  comes,  what  shall  be  done 
with  the  leisure  moments,  and  fragments  of  time, 
which  the  children  of  every  family  have,  I  cannot 
but  again  allude  to  it,  and  say  that  the  habit  of  read- 
ing during  this  leisure  is  unspeakably  important. 
Put  suitable  books,  attractive  books,  into  the  hands 
of  children,  and  they  will,  insensibly  to  themselves, 
form  the  habit  of  occupying  these  seasons  with  read- 
ing. These  habits  will  abide  through  life,  and  will 
be  an  increasing  blessing. 

(d.)  A  Library  will  create  taste  and  draw  out 
genius. 

All  who  remember  their  childhood, — and  who  does 

not  remember  it  ? — can  look  back  and  see  that  this 

or  that  bias  was  given  to  their  character, — this  and 

that  lasting  impression  was  made  by  such  and  such 

11* 


126  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Fifth  use, — elevates  intercourse  of  parents  and  children. 

books  which  they  read.  A  few  years  ago,  and  the 
reading  for  children  was  of  the  most  preposterous 
kind,  the  most  unreal  scenes,  the  most  foolish  stories, 
the  most  frightful  inventions  were  the  companions  of 
the  nursery.  These  made  impressions  which  lasted 
through  life.  Thanks  be  to  God,  this  rubbish  and 
trash  is  passing  away.  Minds  of  the  first  order  are 
now  engaged  in  preparing  books  for  the  young. 
Genius  feels  honored,  in  being  allowed  to  cater  for 
the  mind,  destined  to  be  immortal,  when  it  com- 
mences its  existence.  And  though  we  have  accounts 
of  ministers,  and  missionaries  who  have  been  raised 
up  in  the  Sabbath  School,  yet  I  do  not  believe  these 
are  all  who  have  become  great  and  good  by  means 
of  this  institution.  And  I  believe  there  are  minds 
forming  there,  and  taste  creating  there,  and  genius 
growing  there,  which  will  hereafter  wield  the  pen, 
and  pour  out  the  thought  which  will  affect  the  earth. 
It  is  not  to  be  a  long  time  before  the  taste,  the  litera- 
ture, and  the  genius  of  the  earth,  will  be,  to  a  great 
degree,  nurtured  in  the  Sabbath  School.  The  Li- 
braries will  help  to  do  the  work. 

(e.)  A  Library  will  refine  and  elevate  the  inter- 
course between  parents  and  children,  and  between 
the  children  themselves. 

Much  that  is  foolish,  and  much  that  is  vulgar,  in 
the  intercourse  between  families,  and  between  chil- 
dren, arises  from  the  vacuity  of  the  mind.  They 
have  no  ideas — nothing  to  talk  about.     Not  so  when 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  127 


Will  carry  reproofs  where  needed.   Sixth  use,— attacli  scholars  to  the  school. 


that  family  have  access  to  a  Library,  and  once 
acquire  the  habit  of  reading.  The  conversation 
among  children  is  soon  perceived  to  be  more  refined ; 
the  intercourse  between  the  parents  and  the  children 
is  gradually  softened,  more  gentle,  and  more  amiable. 
There  is  a  tendency  in  books  to  refine  and  soften 
character,  which  is  irresistible.  A  vulgar  man,  either 
in  words  or  in  thoughts,  cannot  be  a  man  who  reads. 
How  many  hints  will  parents  receive  from  these 
books  which  they  will  gradually  incorporate  into  their 
system  of  family  management !  how  many  rebukes 
will  they  receive,  without  the  mortification  usually 
connected  with  reproofs! — how  many  impressions 
will  they  receive,  which  will  gradually  but  certainly 
modify  their  character  !  And  how  many  impressions 
— for  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  impressions 
which  form  the  character  of  children, — will  children 
receive  from  these  books,  which  will  make  them  more 
kind  and  dutiful  at  home — more  docile  and  modest 
abroad — more  free  from  that  boisterous  impudence 
which  is  so  common  an  attendant  upon  a  bad  educa- 
tion !  Every  family-circle  into  which  the  books  of  the 
Sabbath  School  Library  are  admitted,  will  be  soft- 
ened and  refined.  Of  this,  from  what  T  have  seen,  I 
have  not  a  doubt 

(f.)  The  Library  will  attach  the  scholars  to  the 
school. 

Every  human  mind  wants  something  towards  which 
it  can  look  forward.     If  the  child  has  nothing  else  to 


128       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Seventh  use,— reach  whe*re  nothing  else  can. 

do,  but  to  go  and  recite  his  lesson  and  hear  the  re- 
marks of  his  teacher,  he  will  soon  become  weary. 
But  he  looks  forward.  At  the  close  of  the  next  Sab- 
bath, he  will  receive  a  new  book.  It  is  his  property 
— entrusted  solely  to  him  for  a  whole  fortnight.  The 
trust  is  pleasant.  The  prospect  of  pleasure  to  be 
derived  from  reading  is  cheering ;  the  curiosity 
awakened  as  to  the  book  which  he  will  receive,  is  a 
stimulus.  But  in  addition  to  this,  he  knows  that-  his 
parents  are  delighted  with  the  books, — his  home  is 
rendered  more  pleasant, — new  books  will  be  added 
every  year,  and  shortly,  he  will  have  a  larger  book, 
and  then  a  larger,  till  he  has  read  them  all,  and  is 
master  of  all  they  contain.  These  pleasures,  these 
hopes,  this  stimulus,  will  hold  the  child  to  the  Sab- 
bath School,  year  after  year,  till  the  great  design 
of  the  system  has  been  realized  in  his  case. 

(g.)  The  Library  will  do  good  where  nothing  else 
can. 

You  know  of  a  family  in  which  profaneness,  for 
example,  is  indulged  ;  you  cannot  yourself  reprove  it 
successfully;  you  cannot  send  the  tract  which  will 
meet  the  case.  Suspicion  would  awake.  But  you 
can  aid  the  child  to  select,  and  encourage  him  to  read 
aloud  at  home,  the  book  which  will  be  a  mirror  in 
which  that  family  may  see  their  likeness.  So  of  in- 
temperance, or  of  any  other  known  sin.  There  are 
books  prepared  to  meet  all  these  cases ;  and  they  are 
generally  so  well  aimed  that  they  will  hit  the  game. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  129 


The  sling  and  stone.  Eighth  use,— converting  and  saving  the  soul. 


Many  a  family  have  been  drawn  to  the  house  of 
God,  and  have  become  permanent  worshippers  in 
consequence  of  the  arrows  which  they  received  from 
these  books.  The  child  with  the  sling  and  the  stone 
from  the  brook,  has  been  made  to  do  what  a  sword 
could  not  The  heart  arrays  itself,  whenever  you 
reprove  it, — the  pride  rises  up  whenever  you  try  to 
persuade  men  to  do  directly  the  contrary  to  what 
they  are  doing ;  but  when  the  pages  of  a  little  book 
speak,  this  pride  and  vanity  are  not  aroused.  The 
conscience  can  awake  and  speak,  because  the  pas- 
sions do  not  raise  their  stormy  voice  and  drown  her 
admonitions. 

(h.)  The  Library  is  a  powerful  means  of  convert- 
ing the  soul,  and  building  it  up  in  holiness. 

There  are,  probably,  but  few  families  which  do 
not  contain  more  or  less,  who  have  no  evidence  of 
having  passed  from  death  unto  life ;  and  there  are 
few  families  in  which  the  books  of  the  Sabbath 
School  Library  are  not  read.  By  this  means,  old 
and  deep  impressions  have  frequently  been  revived ; 
— new  convictions  have  been  awakened — new  fears 
created,  till  the  soul  has  arisen,  like  the  prodigal,  and 
gone  to  its  Father  for  bread.  If  these  books  do  not 
directly  lead  the  soul  to  God,  they  frequently  do  it 
by  leading  to  the  house  of  God,  or  to  a  conversation 
with  some  faithful  friend,  such  as  the  teacher,  or  to 
the  word  of  God  and  prayer,  till  it  is  finally  brought 
into  the  fold  of  Christ.     I  suppose  half  a  volume 


130  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


The  widowed  mother.     .      Materials  of  which  the  Library  is  composed. 

might  now  be  written,  containing  authentic  accounts 
of  the  good  done  to  the  souls  of  men,  by  means  of 
libraries,  and  doubtless  the  day  of  Judgment  will 
reveal  thousands  more.  But  in  the  waste  places  of 
Zion,  where  the  sound  of  the  "  church-going  bell"  is 
never  heard,  how  has  the  aching  heart  of  the 
widowed  mother  been  made  to  rejoice,  when  her 
smiling  boy  returned  through  the  little  foot-path  of 
the  forest  from  the  distant  school,  bringing  the  book 
which  some  sanctified,  gifted  mind  has  penned,  and 
which  will  aid  her  in  growing  in  holiness,  and  in 
guiding  her  babes  to  the  Lamb  of  God !  Her  child 
shall  receive  impressions  from  these  books,  which  will 
make  him  a  staff  and  a  comfort  in  the  evening  of 
her  days, — and  these  books  will  leave  impressions 
on  the  minds  of  all  the  family  which  will  abide 
forever. 

These,  in  short,  are  some  of  the  most  obvious 
benefits  of  the  Sabbath  School  Library,  which,  in 
my  view,  render  it  absolutely  indispensable  to  the 
success  of  the  school.  Of  course,  the  more  complete 
and  perfect  it  is,  the  better  it  is  adapted  to  the  ends 
contemplated. 

I  proceed — 

2.  To  speak  of  the  selection,  or  the  materials  of 
which  the  Lib?%ary  should  be  composed. 

Great  care  should  be  exercised  in  the  selection  of 
a  Library ;  for  a  book,  like  a  companion,  may  make 
deep  impressions  on  the  child,  and  give  him  a  bias 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  Vi  1 

Care  necessary.   Patronage  of  a  Judge.  First  hint,-*-Library  to  be  increased. 

which  can  never  be  changed.  Formerly  it  was  very 
difficult  to  get  books,  which,  to  any  great  extent  an- 
swered the  purposes  of  a  Juvenile  Library,  and  men 
frequently  undertook  the  selection  who  were  wholly 
ignorant  of  their  duties.  I  once  knew  a  Judge,  who,  on 
being  elected  to  the  presidency  of  a  Sabbath  School 
Society,  and  feeling  that  his  station  required  him  to  be 
a  kind  of  patron,  actually  purchased  and  presented  to 
the  school  some  dozen  or  two  of  Cummings's  largest 
Geography,  as  the  foundation  of  the  Library.  Books 
are  now  so  multiplied,  that  the  greatest  difficulty 
seems  to  be,  to  make  the  best  selection.  Some  are 
almost  destitute  of  character ;  others  are  too  indefin- 
ite; and  others  still,  are  above  the  comprehension 
of  children.   Two  or  three  hints  seem  desirable  here. 

(a.)  A  Library  should  be  steadily  increased. 

This  is  usually  done  once  every  year ;  and  it  ought 
to  be  done  by  the  subscription  or  contribution  of  the 
whole  congregation  with  which  the  school  is  con- 
nected. Great  pains  should  be  taken  to  give  every 
family  an  opportunity  to  contribute, — and  for  these 
reasons, — first,  the  larger  the  increase  the  more  val- 
uable will  the  Library  become,  and  the  greater  will 
be  its  good  influence  upon  the  school,  and  upon  the 
whole  community.  All  are  partakers  of  its  benefits, 
and  all  should  be  urged  to  aid  in  its  increase ;  second, 
the  teachers  are  much  encouraged  and  aided  by  an 
increase  of  good  books.  They  are  almost  sure  to 
find  some  book  which  will  encourage  and  benefit 


132       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER 


Who  should  bear  the  expanses.     Second  hint,— old  books  not  uninteresting. 

them;  and  thirdly,  in  proportion  as  a  congregation 
contribute  for  the  library,  in  that  proportion  will 
they  take  an  interest  in  the  books,  will  read  them, 
will  be  careful  to  see  that  their  children  are  regu- 
larly at  school,  in  order  to  draw  out  books.  At  the 
return  of  every  year,  be  sure,  then,  to  make  as  large 
a  collection  as  possible  to  add  to  the  Library.  Get 
the  new  books  as  they  are  published,  keep  up  with 
the  times,  and  the  school  will  feel  the  effects  of  the 
measure.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  asking  the  church  and 
congregation  for  money.  There  is  no  way  in  which 
they  can  possibly  invest  money  by  which  they  will 
be  able  to  receive  so  great  returns. 

(b.)  A  book  is  none  the  less  valuable  for  being  old. 

There  is  a  feeling  in  many,  and  I  fear  it  is  an  in- 
creasing one,  that  all  books  must  be  considered 
ephemeral.  Like  almanacs,  they  are  good  for  this 
year,  and  then  they  are  to  be  laid  aside.  This  feel- 
ing arises,  in  part,  from  the  peculiar  state  of  things 
in  this  country,  and  is,  perhaps,  peculiar  to  this  land. 
Every  thing  here  is  changing, — a  year  alters  the  face 
of  every  thing ;  and  we  are  in  danger  of  thinking 
that  principles,  and  truths,  and  thought,  must  all 
change  and  pass  away.  In  some  Libraries,  conse- 
quently, you  can  hardly  get  a  book  read  which  has 
been  on  hand  more  than  a  year.  What  is  added 
this  year,  is  current ;  but  nothing  else  is  fit  to  read. 
This  impression  or  feeling  should  at  once  be  cor- 
rected.     A   good   book  will    be    equally   valuable, 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  133 

Examples.  Wrong  impressions. 

(with  rare  exceptions,)  as  long  as  the  English  language 
is  used.  Such  books  as  came  from  the  pens  of  Dod- 
dridge, Baxter,  Edwards,  and  Richmond,  can  never 
decrease  in  value,  or  interest.  Who  will  ever  hope 
to  surpass  the  Pilgrim's  Progress?  When  will  the 
time  come  when  "  Little  Henry  and  his  Bearer,"  and 
"  the  Dairyman's  Daughter,"  will  not  draw  tears  from 
the  eyes  of  the  reader  ?  In  selecting  a  Library,  do 
not  feel,  that  because  a  book  was  written  before  you 
were  born,  it  is  therefore  destitute  of  interest  or  wis- 
dom. Do  not  say  to  the  child,  "  here  now  is  a  beau- 
tiful new  book,  just  written,  and  one  which  will  de- 
light you  greatly,"  while  you  say  to  another,  as  you 
hand  him  one  of  the  most  valuable  books  ever  penned, 
"  I  am  sorry  I  have  not  a  new  book  for  you,  but  they 
are  all  out ;  you  must  take  this  old  one  now,  and  I 
will  try  next  time  to  get  you  a  new  and  an  interesting 
work."  Truth  is  imperishable ;  and  she  gains  nothing 
by  coming  out  every  few  years  in  a  new  dress.  And 
it  seems  to  me  that  the  teacher  would  be  careful 
about  making  the  impression  that  nothing  can  be 
valuable  unless  it  be  new,  if  he  would  only  consider 
the  mischiefs  resulting  from  it.  There  is,  of  course, 
a  freshness  about  a  new  book  which  communicates 
itself  in  a  degree  to  the  reader ;  but  let  the  child  be 
taught  that  a  great  and  a  good  thought  is  something 
that  must  live  eternally,  wherever  he  finds  it,  and 
that  those  who  lived  many  years  ago,  dug  as  deep, 
to  say  the  least,  as  any  writers  of  our  day,  and  you 
12 


134       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Works  of  fiction,— axe  they  to  be  used  ?      Difficulties  attending  the  question. 

will  not  be  troubled  by  the  constant  demand  for  new 
books.  In  other  words,  the  Library  will  become  a 
thing  not  to  be  worn  out,  and  every  good  book  will 
become  a  permanent  blessing. 

What  shall  be  said  of  works  of  fiction, — shall 
they  be  excluded  from  the  Sabbath  School  ? 

A  very  important  and  a  very  difficult  question  to 
answer, — and  difficult,  like  all  questions  of  the  kind, 
because  there  is  no  great  and  permanent  principle  on 
which  to  rest  the  judgment.  My  reply  is,  that  the 
question  must  be  answered  by  the  particular  charac- 
ter of  each  book,  and  it  can  be  answered  in  no  other 
way.  If  you  say  that  fiction  ought  in  all  cases  to  be 
excluded,  then  I  ask  what  you  say  to  the  story  of 
Nathan  to  David,  of  the  story  of  the  good  Samaritan 
by  Christ,  of  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  by  Bunyan, — of 
Parley  the  Porter  by  Hannah  More,  and  a  multitude 
of  similar  works  ?  Who  would  wish  to  exclude  such 
fictions  as  these  ?  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  decide 
that  fiction  may  be  allowed,  you  throw  open  the  door 
to  such  works  as  Dunallan,  Lady  of  the  Manor  by 
Mrs.  Sherwood,  and  all  the  religious  novels,  as  they 
are  called,  which  the  times  have  created.  Great 
complaint  has  already  been  made  that  the  books  of 
the  Sabbath  School  Libraries  contain  too  much  fic- 
tion ;  that  the  child  glances  over  the  pages  merely 
for  the  sake  of  the  story,  without  getting  or  trying  to 
get  the  instruction  designed  to  be  conveyed.  I  am 
fully  satisfied  from  watching  children,  that  there  are 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  135 

Fiction  not  necessary.  Why  it  is  so  much  relished. 

some  grounds  for  this  complaint,  but  a  little  care  on 
the  part  of  parents  and  teachers  will  remedy  the  evil. 
Any  book  has  too  much  of  fiction  about  it,  when  the 
instruction  is  so  much  covered  up  that  the  story  only 
dwells  upon  the  memory.  But  I  shall  be  asked,  is  it 
not  better  to  read  fiction,  and  books  of  fiction  for  the 
sake  of  the  story,  than  not  to  read  at  all  ?  Possibly 
it  may  be  so ;  but  that  is  not  the  question  with  us. 
We  have  not  now  to  determine  whether  we  had  bet- 
ter have  improper  books,  or  none  at  all;  but  to 
choose  between  proper  and  improper  books.  A  book 
for  children  and  youth  may  have  no  fiction,  and  yet 
it  may  be  so  written  that  it  will  be  sure  to  be  read. 
I  am  glad  to  see  that  those  who  are  preparing  books 
for  Sabbath  Schools,  and  who  are  catering  for  the 
mind  of  the  young,  are  beginning  to  take  the  right 
ground  on  this  subject.  Story  will  never  be  excluded 
from  the  world,  nor  from  the  religious  part  of  the 
world ;  but  it  should  be  so  written  as  never  to  be  mis- 
taken for  truth, — and  as  the  philosophy  of  our  love 
for  story,  is,  that  it  presents  human  nature  in  some 
new  position  above  that  of  poor  every-day  human 
nature,  the  less  we  use  it  in  training  up  our  Sabbath 
Schools,  the  better.  It  is  impossible  to  make  it  ac- 
ceptable, unless  you  describe  men  and  children  as 
what  they  should  be,  rather  than  what  they  really 
are. 

A  word  or  two  on  the  biographies  of  children 
which  are  so  abundant.     While  I  fully  believe  in  the 


136       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Biographies  of  children.  An  impropriety  in  them. 

early  conversion  of  children,  and  think  I  have  seen 
many  such  conversions,  I  have  never  yet  seen  one  that 
I  should  have  dared  to  publish,  had  the  child  been  ta- 
ken away.  They  certainly  do  make  wrong  impressions, 
and  I  have  no  doubt,  that  through  the  undesigned 
partialities  of  parental  fondness,  the  child  is  often 
drawn  in  more  beautiful  colors  than  justice  allows. 
For  example,  you  seldom  read  of  one  of  these  chil- 
dren, who  had  not  a  "  large,  speaking  eye,  and  beau- 
tiful, curly  hair ;"  and  it  was  with  great  point  that 
two  children,  in  different  parts  of  our  country,  asked 
the  two  following  questions, — "  do  all  good  children 
die?"  and,  "do  all  the  good  little  girls  that  die  have 
beautiful  curly  hair  V*  I  was  once  at  the  house  of  a 
friend,  who  said  he  had  just  received  a  visit  from  a 
gentleman  and  lady  and  their  child,  and  was  grieved 
to  see  that  child  very  uncommonly  ill-behaved,  and 
disobedient  to  its  parents.  Judge  of  my  surprise  a 
few  months  after,  to  read  a  biography  of  that  child, 
in  which  it  was  described  as  a  paragon  of  all  that  is 
excellent, — as  having  been  most  dutiful  and  pious 
for  a  year  or  two, — all  of  which  was  accompanied 
with  a  steel-engraved  likeness,  showing  the  "  beauti- 
ful head  of  curly  hair."  I  do  not  say  that  the  child 
was  not  really  a  convert  to  Christ.  I  believe  it  was. 
But  I  as  fully  believe  that  if  an  impartial  stranger 
had  drawn  up  the  memoir,  much,  if  not  all,  that  now 
interests,  would  be  gone.  This  is  true  of  much  that 
is  given  in  the  shape  of  biography  of  children.    The 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  137 

Curious  testimony  of  a  child.  Janeway's  Token. 

little  reader  is  led  to  feel  that  all  good  children  must 
die  while  children,  and  that  none  but  very  beautiful 
children  become  good.  The  following  is  the  testimony 
of  a  child  nine  years  of  age.  "  She  was  very  little 
acquainted  with  religious  story  books ;  in  fact  her 
mind  had  imbibed  a  love  for  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
which  rendered  such  auxiliaries  quite  unnecessary ; 
at  six  years  old  she  read  the  Scriptures  with  refer- 
ences, and  devoted  to  that  all  her  leisure  moments. 
She  kept  a  Bible  always  under  her  pillow,  that  she 
might  read  it  in  the  morning  before  she  dressed ;  and 
when  her  parents  happened  to  spend  an  evening  from 
home,  she  always  requested  to  have  a  candle  in  the 
parlor  for  the  purpose  of  reading  in  preference  to 
playing  in  the  nursery  with  her  brother  and  sister. 
A  Christian  friend  brought  her  one  day,  "  Janeway's 
Token  for  Children," — a  beautiful  collection  of  nar- 
ratives, detailing  the  happy  deaths  and  extraordinary 
experience  of  very  young  children.  She  had  not 
read  long,  when  she  laid  down  the  book  with  a  look 

ne  perplexity,  and  sat  still,  evidently  deeply 
(1  in  thinking:  her  mother  at  length  inquired 

!k  liked  the  new  book?  She  answered,  "  I  like 
i  I  don't  like  it."     When  asked  to  explain, 

id  it  was  very  interesting  indeed,  and  very  use- 
ful to  parents  to  read,  because  it  would  encourage 
them  to  begin  religious  instruction  early;  "but  I  don't 
think  it  lit  for  children."  "Why  so?"  her  mother 
inquii  kid  she  "thought  it  calculated  to  teach 

12* 


138  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Publishing  Societies. 

children  to  talk  like  parrots,  and  say  fine  things  which 
they  did  not  feeL  I  know  I  will  not  read  it  any 
longer,  for  fear  I  would  soon  not  know  whether  I  was 
thinking  my  own  thoughts,  or  only  trying  to  persuade 
myself  that  I  was  one  of  the  wonderful  little  children" 
While,  then,  I  would  neither  condemn  nor  exclude 
biographies  of  children  from  the  Library,  I  would  beg 
those  who  write  them,  to  do  it  with  care ;  and  those 
who  put  them,  into  the  hands  of  the  child,  to  be  care- 
ful to  make  the  impression  that  the  imitation  of  the 
feelings  and  character  described,  is  not  at  all  desirable. 

There  are,  at  this  day,  a  multitude  of  minds  cater- 
ing for  the  literature  of  our  Sabbath  Schools,  and  no 
books  are  probably  more  eagerly  published.  But  I 
think  there  is  also,  at  the  same  time,  a  growing  anxiety 
arising  in  the  minds  of  parents,  teachers,  and  pastors, 
in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  issues  ;  that  the  feel- 
ing is  wide  and  strong,  that  the  desire  for  story  books, 
and  it  may  be,  the  mutual  competition,  has  led  to  a 
multiplicity  of  books,  little  and  great,  which  are  so 
entirely  or  so  nearly  fiction,  that  they  are  received  for 
the  sake  of  the  story  ;  that  they  are  so  destitute  of 
deep  thought  and  solemn  truth,  that  many  mothers 
forbid  them  to  come  into  their  houses,  because  they 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  139 

Best  method  of  using  a  Library. 

deem  their  influence  decidedly  unhealthy.  It  may  be 
that  my  reader  will  say,  "  Physician,  heal  thyself."  I 
am  by  no  means  sure  that  the  stricture  would  be 
wholly  unjust.  At  any  rate,  this  fear  must  be  re- 
cognized, when  there  is  a  shrinking  from  taking  any 
one  catalogue  and  selecting  from  it ;  and  when  libra- 
ries are  actually  discarded  from  the  schools  of  some 
of  our  best  and  most  respectable  churches,  because  of 
the  impression  that  great  and  fundamental  doctrines 
are  wholly  left  out,  or  so  emasculated  as  to  have 
neither  point  nor  force,  it  is  time  to  examine  the  sub- 
ject. We  cannot  make  men  without  proper  aliment ; 
and  what  I  am  especially  anxious  for  at  this  time,  is, 
that  all  who  prepare  books  for  Sabbath  Schools, 
especially  those  societies  whose  great  object  is  to 
create  and  issue  such  a  literature,  should  most  care- 
fully weigh  this  subject.  It  will  be  a  disastrous  result 
to  have  our  most  judicious  churches  banish  libraries 
from  their  schools  in  order  to  get  rid  of  fiction.  A 
collection  of  butterflies  may  be  beautiful,  but  we  can- 
not with  it  instruct  in  the  great  principles  of  anatomy. 
:$.  The  best  method  of  using  the  Library,  in  order 
to  make  it  useful. 

far    as   the   duties   of  the   Librarian    are   con- 
cerned,—  and   they  are  so  important  that  he  should 


140  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Two  errors. 


be  excused  from  all  other  duties,  they  should  be  exe- 
cuted with  great  dispatch,  promptness,  accuracy,  and 
silence.  Were  I  a  Librarian,  I  should  unhesitatingly 
adopt  the  plan  invented  in  Albany,  and  now  used 
there,  and  in  the  city  of  Boston.  For  simplicity,  dis- 
patch, silence  and  economy  of  the  time  of  teachers,  I 
have  seen  nothing  equal  to  this.* 

In  using  books,  children  commit  two  errors.  They 
do  not  fully  and  thoroughly  understand  the  book 
which  they  return,  and  they  are  anxious  to  take  out 
large  books, — those  which  are  above  their  comprehen- 
sion. To  remedy  these,  is  the  duty  of  the  teacher. 
And  so  far  as  his  time  and  circumstances  will  per- 
mit, it  would  be  most  desirable  for  him  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  books,  and  have  a  short  examina- 
tion of  each  scholar  as  he  returns  his  book.  Does  he 
understand  the  general  scope  of  the  book  1  Does  he 
understand  all  the  words  used  in  it  ?  Does  he  un- 
derstand its  moral  bearings — and  in  any  measure 
feel  them  ?  Perhaps  the  book  was  designed  to  show 
the  effects  of  falsehood.  Does  he  see  and  feel  the 
truths?  By  this  examination,  you  can  aid  him  in 
fixing,  deepening  impressions  upon  his  heart  and  con- 
science. You  can  give  variety  to  your  instructions ; — 
you  can  throw  light  and  thought  into  the  mind 
through  new  channels.  By  all  means  advise  with 
and  for  your  class,  as  to  the  books  which  they  had 


*  See  Sunday  School  Journal,  November  4,  1835. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  141 

Teacher  should  read.  A  principle  in  human  nature  to  be  studied. 

better  read,  not  permitting  them  to  take  those  which 
are  above  their  comprehension,  and  not  permitting 
them  to  take  them  faster  than  they  read  and  under- 
stand. Encourage  the  children  to  read  the  books  to 
their  parents ;  and  if  they  can  give  you  a  good  ac- 
count of  the  influence  of  the  book  in  the  family,  do 
not  be  backward  in  manifesting  your  approbation. 
The  teacher  will  need  to  use  the  books  himself, — 
not  merely  for  his  own  benefit,  but  as  an  example  to 
his  class.  Give  them  an  account  of  what  you  read, 
as  a  specimen  of  what  you  want  them  to  do. 

There  is  a  principle  in  human  nature,  to  which  I 
wish  here  to  make  a  brief  allusion.  The  reader  can 
probably  remember  how,  when  a  child,  he  listened 
to  his  mother  or  father  as  he  took  him  up  on  his 
knee  and  told  him  the  simple  stories  of  the  Bible, 
such  as  the  murder  of  Abel,  the  flood,  the  story  of 
Joseph,  of  Moses,  Samuel,  of  David,  and  of  Christ. 
How  interesting !  And  my  reader  will  remember  too, 
that  when  he  became  able  to  read  those  stories  for 
himself,  how  much  more  he  was  interested  than  if  he 
had  never  heard  any  thing  about  them  before  !  The 
reason  is,  we  love  to  have  our  knowledge  of  any  par- 
ticular thing  increased ;  we  derive  more  pleasure  in 
getting  a  new  thought  or  new  light  upon  what  we 
have  already  obtained  some  knowledge,  than  we  do 
in  getting  the  same  thought  or  light  upon  a  subject 
of  which  we  know  nothing.  I  need  not  stop  to  ana- 
lyze the  feeling.     Perhaps  it  may  be  traced  back  to 


142  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


This  principle  is  in  nature.  May  classes  be  taught  at  your  house  ? 


pride, — as  there  is  undoubtedly  a  pain  in  first  con- 
templating a  subject  of  which  we  are  entirely  igno- 
rant. I  throw  out  this  hint  that  the  teacher  may 
seize  upon  it,  and  make  it  of  some  use, — nay,  it  may 
be  made  of  great  use.  If  in  your  power,  give  the 
child  some  account  of  the  book  before  he  reads  it,-r- 
of  the  subject  of  which  it  treats.  Is  not  this  nature  1 
Does  not  the  mother  tell  her  child  the  name,  the  res- 
idence, and  something  of  the  character  and  habits 
of  the  visiter  whom  she  expects,  and  in  whom  she 
wishes  to  interest  her  child  1  Do  you  not  enjoy  a 
book  more,  about  which  you  have  heard  remarks, 
and  of  which  you  have  obtained  some  little  know- 
ledge previously  to  reading?  Bear  it  in  mind,  then, 
that  our  interest  in  any  thing  is  increased,  when  we 
are  conscious  that  we  already  know  something  about 
that  subject.  In  talking  with  children,  allow  to  them 
all  the  knowledge  which  they  do  possess,  and  let 
them  feel  that  all  that  they  obtain  is  only  an  addi- 
tion to  their  stock.  I  must  turn  from  the  Library  to 
one  or  two  other  points. 

The  teacher  will  find  it  very  beneficial  now  and 
then  to  invite  his  class  to  his  house.  These  inter- 
views may  be  rather  more  social  than  on  the  Sab- 
bath, but  still,  I  would  have  them  maintain  the  char- 
acter of  religious  meetings.  They  should  in  no  sense 
be  considered  in  the  light  of  a  reward.  Their  object 
should  be  the  increase  of  the  teacher's  means  of 
doing  good,  of  gaining  their  confidence  and  good  will. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  143 

Answer  to  this  question. 

The  question  has  sometimes  been  asked  me  by 
"teachers,  why  they  may  not  take  their  class  home, 
and  instruct  them  by  themselves ;  that  it  would  free 
them  from  interruptions,  and  they  could  advance 
faster  and  more  pleasantly.  My  reply  is,  three-fold ; 
first,  that  though  it  might  be  for  the  good  of  your 
particular  class,  yet  it  would  not  be  for  the  good  of 
the  whole  school.  All  teachers  are  not  qualified  to 
take  this  independent  course, — they  need  the  influ- 
ence and  stimulus  of  others,  that  they  may  move 
along  with  the  rest.  Secondly,  that  the  teacher  is 
never  to  ask  what  would  be  most  pleasant,  but  what 
is  most  useful.  All  experiments  in  education  have 
been  tried,  from  that  of  having  a  tutor  or  half  a  dozen 
tutors  shut  up  with  a  single  child,  to  that  of  having 
a  thousand  pupils  brought  together  at  the  university. 
The  result  is,  that  the  mind  is  best  educated  in  con- 
tact with  other  minds;  it  is  stimulated,  quickened, 
cheered,  and  strengthened.  I  cannot  doubt  but  an 
hundred  scholars  brought  together  and  properly 
taught,  will  do  better  than  the  same  number  divided 
into  ten  classes,  and  taught  separately.  Thirdly,  that 
the  checks  and  interruptions  in  the  school-room  are  a 
part  of  the  mental  and  moral  discipline  of  the  school, 
— such  as  they  must  meet  with  at  every  step  through 
life,  and  such  as  they  should  be  trained  to  expect 
from  childhood.  The  teacher,  then,  who  feels  like 
withdrawing  his  class,  and  feels  that  it  would  be 
more  pleasant  to  be  separated  from  the  school,  will 


144  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Last  hint,— aid  the  Pastor.  Let  the  Pastor  co-operate  with  you. 

recollect  that  in  doing  it,  he  must,  to  a  very  great 
extent,  set  aside  the  interests  of  the  school. 

The  last  hint  which  I  wish  to  give  in  this  chapter 
is,  that  the  teacher  should  try  to  make  it  a  part  of 
his  means  of  usefulness  to  increase  the  usefulness  and 
influence  of  his  Pastor. 

It  is  easy  for  the  teachers  to  ruin  the  influence  of 
the  Pastor  upon  the  Sabbath  School ;  and  I  am  sorry 
to  say  that  I  know  of  a  few  instances  in  which  they 
have  effectually  done  this.  The  Pastor  is  shut  out, 
as  if  the  school  were  altogether  in  other  hands,  and 
as  if  there  were  danger  of  his  usurping  power,  were 
it  possible.  By  a  refined,  but  sure  process,  he  is  cut 
off  from  all  sympathy  with  the  school.  When  he 
goes  in,  he  is  treated  like1'!  sTranger,  and  the  conse- 
quence is,  he  does  not  often  go  there.  Just  the 
reverse  of  this  should  be  the  course  pursued.  This 
school  is  his  flock,  and  the  teachers  are  his  helpers 
in  instructing  and  feeding  that  flock.  You  should, 
therefore,  be  very  careful  not  to  destroy,  or  weaken 
the  sympathy  between  your  Pastor  and  the  school. 
It  need  not  be  done,  and  it  never  will  be  done,  un- 
less by  design.  You  must  remember  that  he  is 
preaching  for  your  mind,  and  the  mind  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  gifted  in  the  congregation.  Instead, 
therefore,  of  finding  fault,  and  complaining  that  he 
does  not  adapt  every  sermon  to  the  capacity  of  chil- 
dren, you  must  take  the  thoughts  of  that  discourse, 
and  in  simple  language  give  them  to  your  class.    In- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  145 


Teach  the  cwldren  to  respect  the  office.  Love  reciprocal. 


stead  of  standing  off,  and  feeling  that  you  occupy  one 
field  and  your  minister  another,  encourage  him  to 
visit  the  school  as  often  as  he  possibly  can, — to  ex- 
amine your  classes,  and  to  talk  to  and  with  the  chil- 
dren. Make  him  acquainted  with  the  particular 
traits  of  character  which  you  discover  in  different 
individuals,  that  he  may  know  how  to  drop  a  word 
now  and  then,  which  will  be  "  as  a  nail  in  a  sure 
place."  Strive  to  make  the  children  love,  and  re- 
spect the  office  of  the  minister, — not  for  the  sake  of 
the  poor  "  dust  and  ashes"  which  now  fills  it,  but  for 
the  sake  of  having  the  admonitions,  the  instructions 
«tnd  the  prayers  of  the  minister  fall  with  more 
weight.  In  another  place,  I  shall  speak  of  his  duties ; 
t)ut  I  cannot  forbear  fcj  '**ge  upon  the  teachers  the 
necessity  of  making  T  our  minister  happy  in  your  cir- 
cle, happy  in  your  ixbool,  and  happy  in  your  confi- 
dence and  love.  It  will  all  be  returned  to  you;  for 
while  there  is  no  man  who  more  needs  your  respect 
and  confidence  and  love,  than  your  minister,  there  is 
no  heart  which  will  more  quickly  appreciate  these, 
nor  more  quickly  and  warmly  reciprocate  them.  He 
relies  upon  his  teachers  more  than  on  any  others, — per- 
haps all  others,  for  aid,  sympathy,  and  love ;  let  him 
never  be  chilled,  by  finding  he  is  leaning  upon  a  reed 
which  will  pierce  his  very  heart  with  sorrows. 
13 


CHAPTER  V. 


ACQUIRING  INFORMATION  IN  ORDER  TO  TEACH. 

The  teacher  who  enters  upon  the  duties  of  his 
station  for  the  first  time,  is  often,  if  not  usually  at  a 
loss  what  and  how  to  do.  He  knows  in  general,  that 
a  particular  lesson  is  to  be  taught,  but  he  has  no 
way  of  coming  at  it.  He  feels  his  wants,  but  can 
neither  describe  nor  supply  them.  How  much  would 
he  value  a  friend  who  had  been  over  all  the  ground, 
and  felt  his  way  out  through  the  dark,  who  could  now 
give  him  just  the  information  needed !  Sometimes  it 
is  a  great  relief  even  to  have  a  friend  aid  him  in  the 
examination  of  a  single  lesson.  Let  me  endeavor  to 
give  you  some  hints  which  will,  I  trust,  aid  you  to 
stand  on  that  firm  ground,  on  which  you  can  help 
yourself. 

1.  Make  the  Bible  your  constant  study. 

The  Bible  is  the  great  store-house  of  light  and 
knowledge  on  spiritual  subjects.  Other  books  are  the 
ladders  and  the  scaffolding;  this  is  the  temple  of 

146 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  147 


First  direction,— study  the  Bible  constantly. 


truth.  The  rules  which  many  give  for  the  study  of 
the  Bible  seem  to  me,  too  frequently  to  overlook  one 
grand  characteristic  of  the  word  of  God  ; — viz.,  that 
as  it  required  supernatural  aid  to  write  it,  so  it  does 
also  to  understand  it.  The  Spirit  which  dictated  it, 
is  necessary  to  understand  it ;  and  the  Bible .  cannot 
be  understood,  and  its  true  spirit  apprehended, 
except  by  the  mind  which  is  led  and  sanctified  by 
the  Spirit  of  God.  You  must  have  the  aid  of  this 
Spirit,  or  you  open  the  word  of  God  in  vain.  The 
letter  killeth :  the  spirit  only  maketh  alive.  In  all 
your  attempts,  then,  to  understand  the  Bible,  be  sure 
to  invoke  the  aid  of  heaven.  Ask,  that  in  God's 
light,  you  may  see  light.  Some  look  upon  the  Bible 
as  a  garden  of  spices,  in  which  you  may  walk,  and 
at  your  leisure  pluck  the  flowers,  and  gather  the 
fruits  of  the  Eden  of  God.  But  this  does  not  accord 
with  my  experience.  I  have  found  it  more  like  a 
mine,  in  which  you  must  dig  and  labor, — the  wealth 
of  which  is  not  to  be  obtained  without  labor ;  a  mine, 
rich  in  gold  and  precious  things,  but  it  must  be 
wrought  day  and  night  in  order  to  produce  them. 
You  must  have  times  and  rules  marked  out,  in  which 
and  by  which  you  will  dig  this  mine,  remembering, 
that  all  that  you  bring  out  will  be  your  own,  and  will 
be  invaluable  to  you  as  a  teacher. 

In  studying  the  Bible  with  a  view  to  teach,  you 
have  a  great  advantage  over  other  teachers  of  reli- 
gion.   A  minister  of  the  Gospel  has  to  meet  hearers 


48       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Great  advantage  possessed  by  the  teacher.    One  grand  aim  in  the  Bible. 

who  are,  not  unlikely,  full  of  their  own  opinions,  full 
of  pride  of  intellect,  full  of  prejudices,  and  full  of 
the  creations  of  their  own  imaginations :  they  come 
to  hear,  demanding  that  their  taste  be  pleased  and 
gratified,  that  their  preconceived  opinions  be  met, 
their  strong  points  enforced,  their  criticisms  all 
allowed,  and  after  all  these  demands  are  met,  if  per- 
fectly convenient  to  apply  some  little  part  to  them- 
selves, they  will  do  it.  Consequently,  the  preacher 
has  to  arm  himself  at  all  points,  prepare  himself  to 
meet  objections  in  every  possible  shape,  whether 
clothed  in  language,  or  only  conceived  in  thoughts. 
Not  so  with  the  Sabbath  School  teacher.  He  has  to 
fit  himself  only  to  teach  truth, — not  to  meet  error, 
in  its  ten  thousand  shapes  and  forms.  He  need  not 
study  to  see  what  a  portion  of  the  Bible  may  possibly 
be  made  to  mean,  but  what  it  does  mean ;  not  what 
a  perverted  taste  and  a  corrupted  heart  may  make 
it  mean,  but  simply,  what  is  its  meaning.  It  is  never 
well,  nor  is  it  necessary  for  him  to  make  any  other 
inquiry,  nor  to  make  any  suggestions,  except  the  real 
and  true  import  of  the  lesson  under  consideration. 
Do  not  get  the  children  in  the  habit  of  feeling  wise 
to  pry  and  enquire  and  cavil  and  conjecture  about 
new  meanings.  This  is  not  teaching:  it  is  spoiling 
through  vain  philosophy.  Keep  it  ever  in  your  mind, 
also,  that  the  Bible  has  one  grand  end,  and  only 
one; — viz.,  the  single  purpose  of  recovering  men 
from  the  ruins  of  sin,  by  the  death  and  mediation  of 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  149 


This  great  aim  to  be  kept  in  mind.  Look  at  the  Bible  as  a  whole. 


the  Son  of  God.  From  this  purpose  it  never  wan- 
ders. All  the  emblems  and  figures  look  to  this.  To 
this  all  the  prophets  point,  and  stand  like  so  many 
stars,  ushering  in  the  king  of  day.  There  is  no  book, 
no  history,  no  chapter  or  portion  of  the  Bible,  that 
does  not  keep  this  great  end  in  view.  This  is  the 
key  that  unlocks  all  the  dealings  of  God,  all  that 
mystery  which  lay  hid  in  God  alone,  till  the  incar- 
nation of  Jesus  Christ.  The  question  is  not,  what  is 
the  simple  meaning  of  each  portion,  were  it  a  sepa- 
rated revelation  from  God ;  but  what  does  it  mean  as 
a  part  of  that  great  system  of  truth  which  opens  the 
character  of  God,  as  dealing  with  a  race  of  sinners, 
whom  he  is  reconciling  to  himself,  by  a  method  new 
and  astonishing  in  the  eyes  of  the  universe.  I  dwell 
upon  this  the  more,  because  I  have  seen  teachers  too 
frequently  conning  over  a  lesson,  which  was  to  them 
dry,  and  almost  unmeaning,  but  which  would  have 
been  full  of  interest  on  the  plan  now  suggested.  "  No 
scripture  is  of  private  interpretation :"  i.  e.  as  I  un- 
derstand it,  the  different  parts  of  the  Bible  are  not 
to  be  interpreted  standing  alone,  but  in  connexion 
with  other  parts,  and  with  reference  to  the  whole. 
If  you  take  one  ray  of  the  rainbow  and  call  it  light, 
you  may  say  that  light  is  red,  or  green,  or  orange ; 
but  if  you  look  at  each  ray  in  connexion  with  all  the 
rest,  you  will  say  that  light  is  not  one  of  these,  but 
consists  in  the  combination  of  the  whole.  Most  of 
the  parables  will  teach  error,  unless  you  keep  this  in 
13* 


150  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Second  direction, — acquire  comprehensive  views. 


view ;  and  always  bear  in  mind  that  a  parable  is  not 
explained  by  "  cirumbling  it  in  pieces,"  but  by  keep- 
ing it  together  and  examining  it  as  a  whole.  Do  not 
be  afraid  of  knowing  too  much  about  the  Bible, — 
of  making  it  too  exclusively  the  great  school-master 
which  is  to  fit  you  to  instruct  your  class.* 

2.  Strive  to  acquire  great  and  comprehensive 
vieivs  of  the  character  and  government  of  God. 

All  that  pertains  to  the  character  of  God  is  ele- 
vating, ennobling,  enlightening,  and  purifying  to  the 
soul.  It  is  about  him  and  his  government  that  you 
are  to  instruct.  The  picture  which  you  form  in  the 
young  mind  of  his  character,  and  the  impressions  you 
give  of  his  government,  will  probably  abide  through 
life,  and  shape  the  destiny  of  the  soul  in  eternity. 
Suppose  you  are  a  skilful  mechanic.  You  have  a 
large  establishment,  furnaces  for  casting,  engines  for 
working  all  manner  of  iron  and  brass.  The  design 
of  the  establishment  is  to  manufacture  steam-engines. 
You  have  no  workmen,  but  are  now  about  to  intro- 
duce a  number  whom  you  have  to  instruct.  Some 
are  to  do  the  castings; — some  to  make  the  small 
wheels ; — some  the  nuts  and  screws ; — :some  to  pol- 
ish, &c.  You  wish  to  teach  them  to  do  every  part 
with  great  perfection.     The  question  now  is,  ought 

*  The  hints  given  in  Chap.  IX.  of  the  Student's  Manual  on 
the  Manner  of  studying  the  Bible,  contain  all  that  my  ex- 
perience suggests  at  present. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  151 


Illustrated  by  a  machine  shop.  Mistake  of  errorists. 

you  not  to  have  a  perfect  and  a  clear  understanding 
of  all  this  machinery  as  a  whole  ?  Ought  you  not 
to  know  where  every  wheel  is  to  go, — how  it  is  to 
play,  what  power  to  sustain  ?  Must  you  not  know 
what  relations  each  part  bears  to  the  other  parts,  and 
to  the  whole  ?  This  must  be  so.  And  you  are  not  fit 
to  superintend  such  a  shop,  unless  you  have  all  this 
comprehensive  knowledge.  Suppose  one  workman 
insists  that  his  wheel  is  the  most  important,  and  that 
upon  it  all  depends.  Another  says  his  wheel  is  of  no 
consequence,  and  it  may  be  left  out,  or  poorly  made. 
Another  insists  that  the  great  balance-wheel  is  of  no 
kind  of  use  but  to  consume  power  to  keep  it  in  mo- 
tion. Are  these  correct  ?  Do  you  not  need  a  know- 
ledge of  the  whole,  so  that  at  a  single  glance  you  may 
know  the  relative  importance  of  each  part  ? 

Now  the-  great  mistake  of  errorists  and  bigoted 
people,  is,  that  all  have  some  particular  wheel  at 
which  they  work,  and  insist  upon  it  that  this  wheel 
is  the  most  important  in  the  whole  engine,  if,  indeed, 
it  do  not  constitute  the  engine  itself!  It  were  easy  to 
give  illustrations ;  but  I  fear  they  would  be  so  plain 
that  they  would  create  sensitiveness,  and  thus  defeat 
the  very  object  which  I  have  in  view.  We  grant 
that  every  wheel  is  essential,  and  may  not  be  left  out; 
but  it  must  be  obvious  to  all,  that  some  are  very  small, 
and  it  is  as  unwise  to  say  that  they  arc  the  whole 
machine,  as  it  would  be  to  insist  that  they  may  be 
entirely  left  out 


152  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Points  of  knowledge  for  the  teacher.    t        Suggestion  of  a  correspondent. 

The  teacher  ought  to  know  who  wrote  the  Bible, — 
the  character  which  the  Holy  Spirit  made  use  of  in 
writing  each  part, — the  circumstances  which  modified 
this  or  that  character  and  event.  He  should  know- 
how  and  why  a  particular  part  of  the  revelation  of 
God  came  to  be  given  when  it  was  given.  He  should 
understand  that  the  word  of  God  is  not  a  collection 
of  little  histories,  of  dark  and  figurative  prophesyings, 
of  gatherings  of  poetry,  and  scraps*  and  hints  con- 
cerning the  character  of  God.  He  must  look  at  it  a& 
a  whole, — understand  it  as  a  whole ;  and  while  he 
must  of  necessity  take  it  in  portions  to  teach  the  class, 
just  as  the  machinist  would  put  one  wheel  into  the 
hands  of  one  man,  he  himself  must  be  able  to  un- 
derstand where  that  portion  belongs,  and  what  part 
of  the  revelation  of  God  it  occupies. 

One  of  my  valued  correspondents  writes,  and  urges 
me  to  prepare  a  course  of  simple  lessons  which  shall 
give  the  child  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  whole  subject 
of  revelation, — holding  up  Christ  as  the  Alpha  and 
the  Omega,  "  of  whom  wrote  all  the  prophets, — of 
whom  the  types,  and  shadows,  and  ceremonies  of  the 
Mosaic  economy  spoke, — that  this  grand,  controlling, 
amazing  subject,  may  be  earnestly  and  mildly 
placed  before  the  children's  attention,  in  a  simple  and 
unique  manner."  But  can  such  a  bird's-eye  view  be 
given  to  the  child,  when  our  teachers,  for  the  most 
part,  are  wholly  ignorant  of  it  themselves  1  Such  a 
course  of  lessons  would  do  great  good ;  and  I  hope 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  153 


Illustration  by  ministers.     Third  direction,— acquire  clear  and  definite  views. 

some  able  pen  will  present  it  shortly ;  but  the  point 
which  I  now  wish  to  press  is,  that  the  teachers  should 
have  these  wide,  comprehensive  views;  and  they 
may  rest  assured  that  they  will  be  continually  walk- 
ing in  the  dark,  unless  they  do  have  them.  Such 
views  will  always  add  to  your  own  comfort  while 
teaching,  while  reading  any  particular  portion  of  the 
Bible.  Every  part  will  seem  to  harmonize  with  other 
parts,  and  illustrate  them.  Every  ray  of  light  will 
aid  you,  not  merely  in  seeing  what  you  are  now  study- 
ing, but  will  be  equally  useful  for  all  other  parts.  There 
is  a  fulness,  an  apparent  greatness  and  richness  about 
the  preaching  and  the  prayers  of  some  ministers, 
which  add  a  charm  to  their  instructions :  perhaps  it 
may  be  attributed  rather  to  the  kind  of  study  here 
recommended,  than  to  any  one  thing  besides.  These 
enlarged  views  cannot  be  acquired  at  once, — they 
cannot  be  obtained  without  meditation  and  thought, 
and  frequent  comparisons  of  the  word  of  God  with 
itself;  but  they  can  be  obtained  by  every  teacher. 
Let  them  not  shrink  from  study,  from  meditation, 
from  thought.  They  cannot  be  fitted  to  teach  the 
word  of  God  without  these.  They  will  be  superficial, 
lean,  cold  or  hot,  according  to  their  feelings. 

3.  Obtain  clear  and  definite  views  of  all  you 
intend  to  teach. 

Set  it  down  as  almost  invariably  true,  that  the 
mind  which  conceives  clearly,  can  make  any  other 
mind  see  and  feel  its  conceptions.     Some  men  are 


154       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


The  thoughts  must  be  clear.        Names  and  dates.        Felix  NefTs  testimony. 

called  deep  men ;  but  it  is  generally,  as  Robert  Hall 
says,  '  because  when  they  dive  so  deep,  they  bring  up 
nothing  but  mud.'  When  you  hear  a  man  talk,  or 
when  you  follow  his  pen,  and  find  yourself  puzzled 
to  Know  what  he  means,  and  when  you  hear  him 
frequently  begging  "  not  to  be  misunderstood,"  you 
may  be  sure  he  is  foggy  in  his  own  mind.  A  clear 
mind  is  under  no  apprehension  of  being  misunder- 
stood. It  cannot  well  be  misunderstood.  If  you  can- 
not clearly  see  the  thought  which  you  wish  to  con- 
vey to  the  child,  do  not  make  the  attempt  to  convey 
it.  The  child  will  at  once  be  puzzled,  and  though 
he  cannot  tell  what  the  difficulty  is,  he  will  feel  it. 
It  will  therefore  be  best  to  study  your  lesson  in  the 
manner,  and  in  the  order,  in  which  you  propose  to 
teach  it.  You  will  then  be  going  over  the  ground  in 
the  same  path,  and  will  be  more  likely  to  see  it 
clearly.  Every  thought  should  be  so  plain  in  your 
own  mind,  that  you  have  no  fear  of  not  being  able  to 
make  the  child  understand  it. 

You  will  find  it  of  immense  advantage  also,  to  have 
accurate  knowledge  of  dates,  and  places.  You  ought 
to  be  perfectly  at  home  in  the  Geography  of  the 
Bible.  Felix  NefF  tells  us  that  he  found  that  when 
he  came  to  introduce  some  simple  maps  among  his 
people  who  are  scattered  up  and  down  the  Alps,  it 
gave  them  a  more  definite  idea  of  places  than  they 
had  before.  They  felt  more  interest  in  reading  the 
Bible,  more  interest  in  sending  the  Gospel  to  the 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  155 


Illustrated  by  case  of  Melchizedec. 


places  pointed  out  on  the  maps ;  and  that  it  put  a 
new  face  on  things  among  them.  This  is  good  phi- 
losophy. The  human  mind  demands  to  know  dates, 
and  places ;  and  God  has  adapted  his  revelation  to 
this  demand,  by  giving  it  at  particular  times,  in  defin- 
ite places,  and  has  thus  put  it  into  our  power  to  lo- 
cate all  that  is  described  in  his  book.  There  is 
scarcely  any  part  of  the  Bible  which  is  not  rendered 
more  interesting  by  definite  knowledge  of  the  Geogra- 
phy of  the  country.  Let  any  one,  for  example,  open 
the  Psalms  and  read,  *  as  the  hills  are  round  about 
Jerusalem,  so  the  Lord  is  about  those  that  fear  him,' 
and  then  let  him  look  at  the  map  of  Jerusalem,  and 
see  the  clustering  hills  all  round  it,  defending  it  from 
storms,  from  winds,  and  from  war,  and  he  will  see  the 
beauty  and  force  of  the  comparison.  Take  a  plain 
case.  How  often  has  the  sneer  of  Tom  Paine  about 
the  parentage  of  Melchizedec  been  repeated !  And 
the  Christian,  when  gravely  asked  to  point  out  who  his 
parents  were,  has  found  himself  in  a  kind  of  maze, 
almost  wondering  what  kind  of  a  being  he  must  have 
been — to  have  been  born  "  without  father  or  mother !" 
Now  if  you  accustom  yourself  to  obtain  clear  and 
definite  views  of  all  that  you  study,  all  such  shadows 
will  be  gone.  The  argument  of  the  Apostle  is  this : 
The  priesthood  of  Aaron  was  not  designed  to  be  per- 
manent ;  Christ  was  predicted  to  be  a  Priest,  after 
the  order  of  Melchizedec,  and  not  after  the  order 
of  Aaron.     Now  we  know  nothing  about  the  gencal- 


156       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Fourth  direction, — obtain  clear  and  interesting  illustrations. 

ogy  of  Melchizedec,  not  even  who  his  parents  were, 
— (not  meaning  that  he  had  none !)  of  course,  if 
Christ  was  to  resemble  him,  he  also  would  spring 
from  some  other  tribe  than  that  of  Levi, — since  his 
priesthood  would  continue  forever.  Nothing  can  be 
more  simple,  and  definite,  and  clear. 

4.  In  preparing  yourself  to  teach,  be  sure  to  get 
illustrations  which  shall  be  clear  and  interesting. 

This  is  one  great  perfection  of  all  teaching.  It 
makes  the  subject  clear,  it  impresses  it  on  the  memo- 
ry where  it  abides,  and  it  leaves  pleasant  associations 
in  the  mind.  This  was  Christ's  method  of  teaching. 
He  took  the  lily,  the  grass,  the  tree,  the  sower,  the 
net,  any  thing  and  every  thing  on  which  the  eye 
rested,  and  pressed  it  into  the  service  of  illustrating, 
adorning,  and  enforcing  truth.  Almost  every  event 
will  aid  you,  and  every  paper  you  read,  and  every 
day  you  live,  will  add  to  your  stock.  The  anxious 
and  attentive  teacher  will  seize  upon  any  event,  and 
make  it  aid  him  in  his  work.  I  give  you  an  example. 
A  teacher  was  trying  to  show  a  little  girl  that  she 
did  not  love  God.  The  child  could  not  see  it,  or 
would  not  admit  it.  The  subject  was  apparently 
dropped,  and  suffered  to  fade  from  the  memory  of  the 
child.  After  conversing  with  others  on  other  points, 
asking  here  and  there  a  question,  the  teacher  again 
turned  to  the  child. 

"  Maria,  how  long  has  your  Father  been  gone  V 

u  Seven  months  last  week,  on  Thursdav." 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  157 

Example,— dialogue  with  a  child. 

"  Do  you  know  the  reason,  now,  why  you  mention- 
ed the  very  day,  Thursday? 

"Yes, — because  he  said  he  would  try  to  be  at 
home  in  just  nine  months  to  a  day, — that's  one  rea- 
son ;  and  the  other, — because  it  seems  so  long  since 
he  went." 

"  Does  he  write  often  V9 

"  He  writes  to  mother  every  week,  and  to  Sarah 
and  me  once  every  month.  We  have  seven  long 
letters  of  our  own." 

"  Do  you  know  when  to  expect  your  letter  ?' 

"  Oh !  yes, — the  last  Thursday  in  every  month,  and 
Sarah  and  I  always  run  to  the  top  of  Janner's  hill  to 
watch  the  stage,  and  sometimes  wait  there  an  hour 
or  two  before  we  see  it  come  in  sight.  And  when  it 
does  come,  then  we  hurry  off  to  the  Post-Office,  and 
hurry  Mrs.  Meigs  for  the  letter,  and  then  run  all  the 
way  home  to  have  mother  read  it  aloud.  Oh !  we 
are  so  glad !" 

"  I  should  think  by  what  you  say  that  you  are  very 
fond  of  your  father." 

"  Indeed  we  are,  Miss  B. ;  and  when  father  comes 
home,  because  he  will  come  in  the  eastern  stage,  and 
in  the  night,  we  are  going  to  sit  up  till  almost  mid- 
night to  see  him.    It  will  be  a  great  time  with  us  all !" 

"  Maria,  I  am  glad  to  see  that  you  love  your  father. 
He  is  worthy  of  your  love.     You  have  answered  my 
questions  very  frankly.     Will   you   answer  me  one 
more  as  frankly  ?" 
14 


158  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Impressiou  by  this  dialogue.      Illustrate  great  principles  from  Scripture. 

"  Yes— I— will." 

"  Well,  can  you  not  now  see  that  you  do  not  love 
God  ?  He  writes  letters  to  you  in  this  book ;  you  do 
not  feel  so  eager  to  read  them  as  you  do  those  from 
your  earthly  father.  He  offers  to  meet  you  and  con- 
verse with  you.  Instead  of  sitting  up  till  midnight  to 
meet  him,  is  it  not  a  task  for  you  to  meet  him  in 
prayer  at  all  ?  You  say  your  father  has  been  gone 
seven  months,  and  you  want  him  to  come  back.  God 
has  been  absent  from  you,  my  dear  child,  much  longer; 
do  you  feel  as  anxious  to  have  him  return  and  to  see 
his  face  1  You  know,  too,  that  God  is  more  worthy 
and  deserving  of  love  than  any  human  father, — has 
done,  and  is  doing  thousands  of  times  more  for  you, 
and  offers  to  do  a  thousand  times  more  for  you  than 
any  human  being  can.  Do  you  love  him  accordingly? 
Do  you  now  say,  Maria,  that  you  love  God  V* 

"  Oh !  no,  Miss  B.,"  said  the  child,  with  her  eyes 
streaming  with  tears. 

All  great  principles  of  religion  ought  to  be  illus- 
trated as  far  as  is  practicable  by  examples  from 
Scripture.  This  was  Christ's  method.  He  taught 
the  sovereignty  of  God  so  clearly,  that  "  they  were 
filled  with  indignation ;"  and  how  did  he  do  it  ?  By 
telling  his  hearers  that  in  the  days  of  Elisha  there 
were  many  lepers  in  Israel ;  but  God,  in  his  sove- 
reignty, left  them  all,  and  healed  none,  except  Naaman 
the  Syrian.  There  were  many  suffering  widows  in 
Israel  during  the  famine,  but  God  in  his  sovereignty 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  159 

Beautiful  example  of  Thomas  Scott. 

relieved  none,  except  one  poor  woman  in  a  distant 
heathen  village !  All  the  teaching  in  the  world  could 
not  make  this  plainer;  and  every  illustration  of 
Scripture  gives  the  child  the  habit  of  inquiring  what 
great  principle  the  various  examples  and  incidents  of 
the  Bible  are  designed  to  illustrate.  As  an  example 
of  this  kind  of  teaching,  I  cannot  but  recommend  you 
to  read  the  beautiful  account  of  his  little  daughter, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  four  and  a  half  years,  winch 
Thomas  Scott  gives,  in  a  few  pages  inserted  at  the  close 
of  the  Memoir  of  his  Life.  "  On  my  return  home  one 
evening,  my  wife  told  me  that  her  daughter  had  be- 
haved very  ill,  and  been  so  rebellious  and  obstinate, 
that  she  had  been  constrained  to  correct  her.  In  con- 
sequence I  took  her  between  my  knees  and  began  to 
talk  to  her.  I  told  her  she  had  often  "heard  that  she 
was  a  sinner  against  God ;  that  sin  was  breaking  the 
commandments  of  God ;  that  he  had  commanded  her 
to  honor  and  obey  her  father  and  mother :  but  that 
she  had  disobeyed  her  mother,  and  thus  sinned  against 
God,  and  made  him  angry  at  her, — far  more  angry 
than  her  mother  had  been ;  that  she  had  also  often 
heard  that  she  must  have  a  new  heart  or  disposi- 
tion ;  that  if  her  heart  or  disposition  were  not  wicked, 
she  would  not  thus  want  a  new  one ;  but  that  her 
obstinate,  rebellious  conduct  to  her  mother,  (with 
some  other  instances  which  I  mentioned,)  showed  that 
her  heart  was  wicked;  that  she  therefore  wanted 
both  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  a  new  heart,  without 


160  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  results  of  parental  faithfulness. 

which  she  could  not  be  happy  in  another  world  after 
death.  I  went  on  to  talk  with  her,  in  language 
suited  to  her  age,  concerning  the  love,  and  mercy, 
and  grace  of  Christ,  in  a  manner  which  I  cannot 
particularly  describe;  but  my  heart  was  much  en- 
gaged, and  out  of  the  abundance  of  my  heart  my 
mouth  spoke  ;  and  I  concluded  with  pressing  it  upon 
her  constantly  to  pray  to  Jesus  Christ  to  forgive  her 
sins ;  to  give  her  a  new  heart,  and  not  to  let  her  die 
till  he  had  indeed  done  so. 

I  have  good  ground  to  believe  that  from  that  time 
to  her  death,  no  day  passed  in  which  she  did  not, 
alone,  more  than  once,  and  with  apparent  earnest- 
ness, pray  to  Jesus  Christ  to  this  effect ;  adding  peti- 
tions for  her  father,  mother,  and  brothers,  and  for  her 
nurse, — to  whom  she  was  much  attached.  At  times 
we  overheard  her  in  her  little  room  to  which  she 
used  to  retire;  and  on  some  occasions  her  prayers 
were  accompanied  with  sobs  and  tears.  Once  she 
was  guilty  of  an  untruth ;  and  I  reasoned  and  ex- 
postulated with  her  on  the  wickedness  of  lying.  I 
almost  seem  now  to  hear  her  subsequent  confessions 
in  her  retirements, — her  cries  for  forgiveness, — her 
prayers  for  a  new  and  a  better  heart,  and  that  "  she 
might  not  die  before  her  new  heart  came."  In  short, 
there  was  every  thing  in  miniature,  which  I  ever 
witnessed  or  read  of  in  an  adult  penitent ;  and  cer- 
tainly there  were  fruits  meet  for  repentance, — for 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  161 

Use  of  illustrations.  Fifth  direction,— teacher  must  furnish  thoughts 

nothing  reprehensible  afterward  occurred  in  her 
conduct." 

One  great  use  of  familiar  illustrations,  in  addition 
to  that  of  explaining  a  principle,  is,  that  they  aid  you 
in  enforcing  truth  upon  the  conscience.  The  youngest 
child  will  be  careful  not  to  take  any  truth  home  to 
his  own  conscience  any  further  than  it  is  pressed 
there  by  his  teacher ;  and  the  teacher  will  not  do 
this  with  any  effect,  if  he  do  not  first  apply  it  to 
his  own  conscience.  Children  think  and  talk  in 
figures  and  in  natural  illustrations.  The  parents  of 
some  children  in  Wales,  on  one  stormy  sabbath,  were 
gone  to  their  place  of  worship,  and  the  children,  all 
under  eight  years  of  age,  were  left  alone.  They 
spent  their  time  in  what  they  there  call,  an  Infant's 
prayer-meeting.  Among  other  simple  expressions 
made  use  of  in  their  little  prayers,  was  the  prayer 
that  "  God  Almighty  would  rock  them  in  his  own 
cradle."  I  have  known  teachers  aided  in  enforcing 
the  truths  contained  in  their  lessons  by  a  selection  of 
one  or  more  of  the  anecdotes  of  Whitecross'  Pleasing 
Expositor. 

5.  Remember  that  the  teacher  must  study  to  fur- 
nish  new  thoughts,  as  well  as  enforce  impressions 
already  received. 

The  process  of  acquiring  new  thoughts,  and  of 
storing  the  mind  with  new  materials,  will  be  tedious, 
or  pleasant,  according  to  your  habits  and  circum- 
stances. Application  of  the  mind  under  any  circum- 
14* 


162  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Peculiar  characteristics  of  mind  displayed  in  the  city  and  country. 

stances  is  no  easy  matter ;  but  under  some,  it  is  pe- 
culiarly unpleasant.  To  show  clearly  what  I  mean, 
let  me  briefly  state  a  few  marks  of  difference  be- 
tween Sabbath  School  teachers  who  live  in  the  city, 
and  those  who  live  in  the  country ;  for  all  who  have 
noticed  the  difference,  must  have  seen  that  it  is  very 
striking. 

The  mind  in  the  city  is  awake,  susceptible,  and 
ready  to  receive  any  impression  which  is  desired ; 
but  the  waves  roll  on,  and  the  next  tide  washes  it  all 
away.  The  river  runs  so  rapidly,  that  it  cannot  be 
salted.  The  mind  will  receive,  but  will  not  retain 
impressions.  In  the  country,  there  is  nothing  to  efface 
impressions  ;  but  the  difficulty  is,  to  make  them.  The 
mind  seems  to  receive  impressions  most  slowly,  when 
the  most  calm.  In  the  city,  we  are  in  danger  of 
carrying  our  business-habits  into  every  thing,  religion 
as  well  as  other  things.  We  take  up  religion,  teach- 
ing, doing  good,  just  as  we  go  to  the  bank,  when  the 
hour  is  come.  It  is  no  self-denial  to  do  the  business 
pertaining  to  religion.  In  the  country,  the  danger  is 
of  not  doing  it  at  all.  In  the  city,  we  are  in  danger 
of  doing  every  thing  superficially, — of  making  our 
feelings  the  standard  of  duty ;  in  the  country,  we  are 
in  danger  of  sleeping  away  life  for  the  want  of  feel- 
ing. In  the  city,  we  are  in  danger  of  acting  too 
hastily — in  the  country,  of  not  acting  at  all,  or  at 
least,  not  soon  enough.  In  the  city,  we  trust,  that 
our  Christian  character  will  stand   the  test  of  the 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  163 


Inference  from  this  comparison. 


Judgment,  because  we  do  so  many  good  things;  in 
the  country,  we  trust  it  will  stand  the  test,  because 
we  do  so  few  things  that  are  bad.  In  the  city,  we 
seize  upon  floating  information,  and  make  men  and 
passing  events  our  books ;  in  the  country,  we  read 
and  think  more,  but  are  a  great  while  in  coming  to 
results.  In  the  city,  we  go  by  the  fashions,  the  public 
voice,  and  the  opinions  of  others ;  in  the  country,  we 
go  by  self-interest,  and  are  little  affected  by  what  is 
passing  without  ourselves.  In  the  one  case,  the  fire 
seems  to  kindle  quick,  but  wants  kindling  often ;  in 
the  other,  it  burns  longer,  but  is  harder  to  kindle.  If 
in  the  city  we  think  less,  it  is  true,  we  think  quicker, 
and  we  are  somewhat  excusable  for  not  having 
thoughts  abide,  because  there  is  so  much  to  efface 
them ;  if  in  the  country,  we  think  more,  it  is  partly 
owing  to  the  fact,  that  the  mind  must  turn  to  itself 
for  employment  and  amusement.  In  the  one  case, 
the  teacher  will  need  to  go  to  books  for  ideas  and 
thoughts,  and  will  need  to  study  longer  for  new 
thoughts ;  in  the  other,  he  will  need  to  go  often  to 
books,  to  give  him  correct  views,  definite  views,  and 
to  recal  thoughts  and  impressions  which  are  constantly 
fading  away.  In  the  one  case,  imagination,  spright- 
liness  will  be  in  danger  of  being  neglected ;  in  the 
other,  clear  and  definite  views  will  be  wanting. 
Whether,  therefore,  the  teacher  has  the  habits  of  the 
city  or  of  the   country,  he  will   have   deficiencies 


164       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Must  not  substitute  vnrds  for  thoughts.  Enforce  one  point. 

which  nothing  but  the  obtaining  new  thoughts  from 
books  will  supply. 

Some  teachers  fill  the  heads  of  their  classes  with 
words,  instead  of  thoughts.  In  every  lesson,  which 
you  study  with  a  view  of  teaching,  you  will  need  to 
ask  yourself,  what  have  I,  and  what  have  the  chil- 
dren under  my  care  to  do  with  this  passage  ?  How 
am  I  to  explain  this  and  that  expression?  How 
illustrate  this  and  that  truth  contained  in  the  lesson  ? 
What  new  thoughts, — thoughts  which  I  wish  them 
to  remember  as  long  as  they  live,  shall  I  communi- 
cate in  connexion  with  this  lesson?  How  shall  I 
gain  the  attention  at  the  very  beginning  of  the 
school,  so  that  I  can  keep  it,  and  deepen  it  through 
the  exercise  1  What  one  point  in  this  lesson  can  I 
illustrate  and  enforce  in  a  way  that  will  reach  the 
conscience,  fix  itself  upon  the  memory,  become 
moulded  into  the  character,  and  abide  through  life  ? 
Probably  it  will  be  wiser  to  attempt  to  fasten  one 
single  point  in  the  lesson  upon  the  minds  of  all  your 
class,  than  to  attempt  more.  One  nail  may  be  driven 
home.  If  you  attempt  more,  you  drive  them  wrong. 
If  we  try  to  enforce  too  many  thoughts  on  the  mind 
at  once,  they  will,  as  Rowland  Hill  says,  '  batter  upon 
the  mind,'  without  entering  it, — a  mistake  into  which 
many  teachers  fall,  and  one  which  is,  as  it  were,  ne- 
cessary, from  their  not  making  it  an  object  to  acquire 
new  thoughts,  and  to  bring  them  to  bear  on  a  single 
point. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  165 

Avoid  being  abstract.  Delightful  examples  in  the  Scriptures. 

The  great  difficulty  with  which  we  meet  in  pre- 
paring ourselves  to  instruct  children,  is,  that  we  find 
it  difficult  to  conceive  of  things  and  describe  things 
in  simplicity,  without  being  abstract.  All  have 
noticed  how  eagerly  a  child  will  read  Bunyan's  Pil- 
grim's Progress.  The  reason  is,  that  it  is  all  addressed 
to  the  eye  and  the  senses.  You  can  see  the  sinner 
under  conviction ;  you  can  hear  his  groans  and  com- 
plaints ;  you  can  watch  his  progress,  trials  and  diffi- 
culties. There  is  no  other  possible  way  in  which  the 
experience  of  the  converted  sinner  could  have  been 
given,  which  would  have  been  so  interesting,  and  so 
useful.  Ask  a  child  if  he  knows  what  whiteness  is  ? 
He  tells  you  no.  Ask  him  if  he  knows  what  a  white 
wall,  or  white  paper  is,  and  he  knows  at  once.  Ask 
him  what  redness  is.  He  cannot  tell  you.  But 
speak  of  a  red  cloud,  or  a  red  rose,  and  he  under- 
stands you.  Talk  about  hardness,  and  he  cannot  un- 
derstand you.  Talk  about  hard  wood,  a  hard  hand, 
or  a  hard  apple,  and  he  understands  it  all.  The  Old 
Testament,  in  the  infancy  of  the  world,  when  there 
was  comparatively  no  reading  and  no  writing,  used 
to  address  men  through  the  senses,  and  in  this  way 
alone.  If  God  would  speak,  he  came  down  in  the 
shape  of  a  man, — he  called  from  the  burning  bush. 
Would  he  teach  his  perpetual  presence  1  He  hung 
over  Israel  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  pillar  of  fire. 
Would  he  teach  that  he  is  a  king,  and  ruler,  he  has 
the  tabernacle  or  tent  pitched  as  the  palace  of  the 


166  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Interesting  experiment.  The  watch  taken  in  pieces. 

invisible  King,  and  appoints  the  High  Priest  to  be  the 
officer  who  alone  might  come  and  receive  the  com- 
mands of  the  king.  Men  were  then  children,  and 
all  the  Old  Testament  teaches  them  in  this  way. 
We  must  follow  this  method  in  teaching  children. 
They  cannot  conceive  of  any  thing  abstractly.  The 
fifteenth  chapter  of  Luke  is  a  most  beautiful  speci- 
men of  teaching  through  the  senses.  I  once  saw  a 
preacher  trying  to  teach  the  children  that  the  soul 
would  live  after  they  were  dead.  They  listened,  but 
evidently  did  not  understand  it.  He  was  too  abstract. 
Snatching  his  watch  from  his  pocket  he  says,  "  James, 
what  is  this  I  hold  in  my  hand  ?" 

"  A  watch,  sir ;" — "  a  little  clock,"  says  another. 

"  Do  you  all  see  it  V* 

"  Yes,  Sir." 

"  How  do  you  know  it  is  a  watch  ?" 

"  It  ticks,  Sir." 

"Very  well,  can  any  of  you  hear  it  tick?  All 
listen  now."  After  a  pause — "  Yes,  Sir,  we  hear  it." 
He  then  took  off  the  case,  and  held  the  case  in  one 
hand,  and  the  watch  in  the  other. 

"Now,  children,  which  is  the  watch? — you  see 
there  are  two  which  look  like  watches  ?" 

"  The  littlest  one — in  your  right  hand,  Sir." 

"  Very  well ;  but  how  do  you  know  that  this  is  the 
watch?" 

"  Because  it  ticks." 

"  Very  well  again ;  now  I  will  lay  the  case  aside, — 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  167 

Obtain  very  definite  illustrations. 

put  it  away  there  down  in  my  hat.  Now  let  us  see 
if  you  can  hear  the  watch  tick  ?" 

•  Yes,  Sir,  we  hear  it" — exclaimed  several  voices. 

"  Well,  the  watch  can  tick,  and  go,  and  keep  time 
you  see,  when  the  case  is  taken  off  and  put  away  in 
my  hat.  The  watch  goes  just  as  well.  So  it  is  with 
you,  children.  Your  body  is  nothing  but  the  case ; 
the  soul  is  inside.  The  case, — the  body  may  be 
taken  off  and  buried  up  in  the  ground,  and  the  soul 
will  live  and  think,  just  as  well  as  this  watch  will  go, 
as  you  see,  when  the  case  is  off." 

This  made  it  plain,  and  even  the  youngest  went 
home  and  told  his  mother  that  his  "little  thought 
would  tick  after  he  was  dead." 

Many  can  make  no  impression  upon  the  mind  of 
the  child  because  they  are  so  general  in  their  de- 
scriptions. In  preparing  yourself  to  teach,  be  careful 
to  get  the  mind  filled  with  particular  and  minute 
parts  of  all  you  undertake  to  describe.  Suppose  you 
wish  to  teach  your  class,  *  that  what  they  now  learn, 
and  all  that  they  now  see,  and  feel,  and  do,  will  abide 
with  them  through  life.'  You  wish  to  illustrate,  to 
enforce,  and  make  them  remember  this  particular 
thought.  You  do  it  by  telling  a  simple  story,  and  you 
tell  it  as  minutely  as  possible,  something  in  this  way. 

'  Children,  you  know  that  lions  and  tigers,  and  such 
wild  creatures  live  far  off  in  the  great  woods.  Men 
sometimes  go  after  them,  and  when  they  find  a  young 
lion,  or  a  young  tiger, — not  much  bigger  than  a  cat, 


168  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  old  negro  and  the  lion.  The  power  of  early  associations. 

they  catch  them,  and  shut  them  up  in  a  cage  made 
of  iron  wire,  and  when  they  are  grown  up,  they 
carry  them  round  in  carts  to  show  them.  Well,  a 
number  of  years  ago,  a  large  red  lion,  with  long  hair 
on  his  neck,  called  the  mane,  and  with  bright,  fiery 
eyes,  was  brought  along  in  a  great  iron  cage,  to 
show.  The  cage  was  iron, — so  that  he  need  not 
break  out  and  kill  people.  It  was  taken  out  of  the 
cart,  and  put  in  the  middle  of  a  great  barn  on  the 
floor.  A  great  many  men  and  children  went  to  see 
the  lion.  Some  wanted  to  see  him  eat,  some  wanted 
to  hear  him  roar,  and  some  wanted  to  see  him  strike 
his  sides  with  his  long  tail ;  and  some  wanted  to  see 
the  man  who  kept  him,  put  his  hand  in  his  mouth. 
At  last  an  old  negro  man  came.  He  was  a  tall,  old 
man,  with  white,  woolly  hair,  and  he  carried  a  great 
cane  in  his  hand.  When  he  came,  he  walked 
slowly,  and  softly,  and  came  up  and  looked  at  the 
lion.  After  looking  a  moment,  he  began  to  cry. 
The  tears  ran  down  his  large,  black  face ;  and  then 
he  began  to  sing,  and  jump,  and  dance  all  round  the 
barn !  People  thought  he  must  be  crazy.  But  after 
he  had  danced  awhile  in  this  way,  he  began  to  cry 
again.  Now  what  do  you  think  made  him  feel  so  ? 
Can  any  of  you  guess  1  I  will  tell  you. — Lions  live 
in  Africa, — a  place  which  is  a  great  way  off  from  us. 
There  are  plenty  of  woods  there,  and  the  lions  live 
in  them.  This  poor  old  negro  was  born  in  Africa ; 
and  when  he  was  a  young  man,  some  wicked  people 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  169 

Stories  used  should  be  true.  Sixth  direction,— must  have  helps. 

came  and  caught  him  and  brought  him  away  from 
his  home  and  his  friends,  and  sold  him  as  a  slave.  He 
had  never  gone  back, — never  seen  any  of  his  friends. 
He  had  not  seen  a  lion  since  he  came  from  Africa ; 
and  now  when  he  came  to  see  one,  it  made  him  think 
of  his  home, — his  home,  where  he  used  to  see  lions 
when  a  boy !  It  made  him  think  of  his  boyhood,  and 
called  up  his  parents  and  friends  to  his  mind,  and  it 
seemed  to  carry  him  back  to  his  own  home  of  child- 
hood. These  thoughts  made  him  jump  and  cry  and 
act  so !  Do  you  not  now  see,  children,  how  that 
what  you  do,  and  say,  and  learn  noiv,  while  you  are 
children,  will  be  remembered  as  long  as  you  live? 
This  is  what  makes  me  so  anxious  to  teach  you  good 
things.  Now  I  want  you  all  to  remember  this  story 
of  the  lion,  and  the  old  gray-headed  negro ;  and  re- 
member too  why  I  told  it  to  you, — to  show  you  that 
what  we  learn  when  we  are  children,  will  be  re- 
membered when  we  are  old  people,  if  we  should  live 
so  long.     Don't  forget  it* 

I  may  be  thought  to  be  tediously  minute;  but 
those  for  whom  I  write  will  not  be  unwilling  that  I 
illustrate  my  thoughts  by  examples,  when  I  am 
urging  them  to  do  the  same  to  their  classes.  Almost 
any  simple  story  will  answer  your  purpose, — always 
supposing  it  to  be  true. 

6.  The  teacher  must  provide  himself  with  some 
helps  to  aid  him  in  preparing  to  teach. 

Most  schools  use  Questions  of  some  kind  or  other, 
15 


170  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Aids  suggested.  Necessity  of  reading. 

and  in  the  present  state  of  Sabbath  School  teaching, 
I  have  no  doubt  that  this  is  wise.  But  this  of  itself 
cannot  make  a  good  teacher.  He  should  have  a 
Bible  with  References, — which  he  should  feel  is  to 
be  the  great  interpreter,  in  connexion  with  a  Con- 
cordance, so  far  as  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  the 
Bible  is  concerned.  In  addition  to  this,  he  will  find 
other  helps,  such  as  maps,  diagrams,  Geographies, 
Natural  History,  Antiquities  of  the  Bible,  and  the 
like,  of  great  use.  Were  I  to  select  a  commentary, 
I  should  decidedly  place  Henry  first  on  the  list.  For 
obtaining  interesting  and  rich  views  of  the  Scriptures, 
I  think  it  decidedly  the  best  in  the  English  language. 
No  man  can  read  it  daily,  without  becoming  wiser 
and  better.  To  the  teacher,  it  is  almost  invalua- 
ble. I  recollect  when  I  first  commenced  the  ministry 
and  was  teaching  a  Bible  class,  I  rode  on  horse-back 
through  deep  mud,  eight  miles  to  get  Henry,  long 
enough  to  examine  one  single  chapter,  and  thought 
myself  abundantly  compensated  for  time  and  trouble. 
For  a  single  book,  I  know  of  nothing  so  useful  to  the 
teacher  as  "  The  Encyclopaedia  of  Religious  Know- 
ledge,"— a  book  of  nearly  thirteen  hundred  pages, 
and  as  a  whole,  of  great  and  permanent  value.  It 
contains  what  would  cost  ten  times  its  own  price,  if 
the  separate  books,  containing  all  its  information 
were  to  be  purchased.  Let  me  beg  of  the  teacher 
to  read  some, — even  if  it  be  but  little,  every  day. 
No  man  can  live,  and  forget  as  much  as  every  man 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  171 

Seventh  direction,— attend  the  teachers'  meeting  punctually. 


must,  and  keep  up  with  the  times,  without  reading 
and  filling  up  the  mind.  We  love  a  modest  man. 
We  have  confidence  in  such  men.  The  reason  is, 
that  they  are  usually  modest  in  consequence  of  read- 
ing, comparing  their  views  with  others,  and  obtaining 
knowledge  which  is  the  result  of  experience ; — while 
a  man  who  does  not  read,  is  in  danger  of  throwing 
out  half-formed  notions,  crude  opinions,  and  theories 
which  are  based  upon  a  false  philosophy.  A  man 
who  does  not  read,  can  have  no  confidence  in  himself 
any  longer  than  he  is  associated  with  minds  similar 
to  his  own.  Besides  all  this,  a  mind  that  is  not  im- 
proved by  reading  will  soon  have  used  up  all  it  pos- 
sesses ;  and  when  the  man  finds  that  his  stock  is  com- 
pletely exhausted,  he  is  in  danger  of  retiring  in 
discontent,  and  mourning  over  the  stupidity  and 
degeneracy  of  the  times.  The  reading  of  which  I 
am  speaking,  has  direct  reference  to  the  lessons  to  be 
taught  That  reading  is  always  the  most  valuable 
which  has  an  immediate  end  directly  in  view. 

7.  The  teachers'  meeting  should  be  punctually 
attended,  and  made  useful  in  preparing  to  teach. 

Since  a  kind  providence  has  placed  me  in  the  min- 
istry, there  has  been  no  part  of  my  congregation  in 
which  I  have  taken  a  deeper  interest  than  the  Sab- 
bath School.  If  I  have  in  any  measure  been  useful 
to  it, — and  God  has  been  pleased  to  bless  it  abun- 
dantly in  converting  its  members, — it  has  been  prin- 
cipally through  the  teachers.     Our  method  has  been 


172  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

How  teachers'  meeting  to  be  managed.      Example  of  a  teachers'  meeting. 

this.  We  had  a  long  room  fitted  up,  and  a  table  in 
the  shape  of  a  T,  capable  of  holding  fifty  teachers. 
At  the  head  of  this  table  I  have  been  accustomed  to 
meet  my  teachers  once  every  week.  The  Superin- 
tendent always  sat  at  my  right  hand.  On  this  table 
were  laid  Reference-Bibles,  maps,  dictionaries,  &c, 
as  each  one  chose  to  bring, — always  having  a  good 
Map  of  Palestine  present.  I  have  then  requested  the 
teacher  nearest  me  to  read  a  verse  of  the  lesson; 
asked  him  questions,  and  talked  with  him  about  it, 
just  as  if  in  a  parlor.  If  he  could  not  readily  answer 
the  question,  I  say,  "  can  any  of  the  teachers  answer 
this  question  V9  Any  one  answers,  who  pleases.  Or 
if  he  gives  an  answer  not  quite  satisfactory,  or  not 
quite  full  enough,  I  ask,  <  has  any  teacher  a  different 
opinion,'  or,  \  would  any  teacher  add  any  thing  to 
this  answer  V  Sometimes  these  questions  lead  us  into 
long  and  deeply  interesting  conversations ;  for  after  I 
have  put  the  questions  relating  to  each  verse,  all 
have  permission  to  question  me.  And  at  the  end  of 
the  lesson,  I  ask,  '  has  any  teacher  any  question  to 
ask,  which  has  not  been  satisfactorily  answered  V  I 
have  met  hundreds  of  teachers  in  these  meetings, 
have  never  seen  a  meeting  which  was  not  deeply  in- 
teresting, have  never  seen  any  thing  occur  which  was 
painful,  disrespectful,  or  otherwise  than  pleasant.  I 
can  truly  say,  that  some  of  the  brightest  hours  of  my 
life  have  been  spent  with  teachers  in  the  Teachers' 
Meeting.   I  have  never  seen  any  disagreement  among 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.       173 


Eighth  direction,— prayer  indispensable. 


themselves.  Each  one  should  come  to  these  meetings 
endeavouring  to  bring  a  teachable,  kind  spirit;  to 
bring  his  share  of  intellectual  food  which  is  to  make 
up  the  feast,  and  to  feel  that  he  is  doing  all  that  he 
can  to  make  the  meeting  profitable  and  interesting. 
A  lesson  talked  over  in  this  way  will  be  taught  with 
great  pleasure  and  profit  I  have  sometimes  been 
delighted  with  the  illustrations  which  they  have 
brought  in ;  and  sometimes  have  felt  that  I  was  aid- 
ing them  when  they  ask,  "  how,  Sir,  would  you  illus- 
trate this  and  that  truth  contained  in  this  lesson,  to  a 
child  of  six  years  V  The  minister  and  the  teachers 
who  have  been  unacquainted  with  the  pleasures  of 
these  meetings,  are  ignorant  of  what  will  always 
cheer,  encourage,  enlighten,  and  warm  the  heart. 

8.  Prayer  is  indispensable  to  him  who  would  ac- 
quire knowledge  in  order  to  be  a  teacher. 

Were  the  question  to  be  asked  how  you  could  make 
even  fine  linen  whiter,  the  answer  undoubtedly  would 
be,  wash  it  in  pure  water ;  and  the  purer  the  water, 
the  whiter  would  be  the  linen.  So  if  you  would 
have  the  mind  clear,  and  pure,  there  is  nothing  like 
washing  it  in  the  pure  waters  of  life.  It  needs  daily 
and  constant  washing,  too,  for  sin  daily  defiles  it 
Nothing  will  purify  the  mind  like  bringing  it  into 
contact  with  God  in  prayer ;  nothing  will  render  it 
clear  like  this, — nothing  will  enlarge  and  strengthen 
it  like  this.  It  is  the  testimony  of  all  such  men  as 
Payson,  that  they  succeeded  in  obtaining  knowledge 
15* 


174  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Need  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Habitual  spirit  of  prayer  needed. 

vastly  more  rapidly,  in  consequence  of  communing 
with  God  in  prayer. 

There  is  another  thought  which  should  not  be  left 
out  of  mind.  The  Scriptures  were  given  by  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  is  their  author.  In 
order,  then,  to  understand  them  aright,  you  must  go 
to  the  same  Spirit  for  light  and  teaching.  He  can 
guide  into  all  truth,  and  make  you  wise  to  lead  others 
to  salvation.  Your  own  comfort  as  a  Christian  must 
droop  and  die,  your  hopes  become  faint  and  darkened, 
your  faith  weak  and  unproductive,  and  your  love  to 
the  souls  of  men  will  wax  cold  indeed,  unless  you 
keep  your  heart  warm  at  the  throne  of  grace.  I  do 
entreat  my  reader  never  to  attempt  to  get  a  lesson, — 
never  to  go  to  the  teachers'  meeting, — never  to  go  to 
your  class,  unless  you  have  first  earnestly  sought  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  your  soul  in  secret  prayer.  All 
meetings  of  teachers  should  be  opened  and  closed 
with  prayer.  All  attempts  to  do  good  must  be  founded 
on  prayer.  Were  I  to  say  what  I  deem  the  greatest 
deficiency  among  teachers, — among  Christians, — 
among  all  who  are  engaged  in  building  up  the  king- 
dom of  Jesus  Christ,  I  should  say,  the  want  of  an 
habitual  spirit  of  prayer.  The  mouth  that  speaks 
in  God's  name  in  the  pulpit, — the  hand  that  holds  the 
pen  which  writes  for  the  good  of  others, — the  lips 
that  pour  instruction  into  the  mind  of  the  child, — all, 
all  need  to  be  daily  sanctified  by  prayer.  This  would 
shield  us  in  the  hour  of  temptation ;  this  would  sus- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  175 


Conclusion. 


tain  us  when  the  horizon  looks  dark  and  gloomy, — 
this  would  strengthen  us  when  the  heart  feels  ignor- 
ant and  desponding, — and  this  would  give  us  the  arm 
of  Omnipotence  for  our  aid,  the  wisdom  of  the  Infi- 
nite One  for  our  light,  and  the  sweet  communion  of 
the  blessed  Spirit  to  aid,  guide,  and  reward  us.  The 
seed  sown  in  the  freshness  of  the  morning,  and  that 
which  is  scattered  in  the  dews  of  evening,  would  alike 
take  root,  and  bring  forth  fruit,  thirty,  sixty,  and  an 
hundred  fold. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


COMMUNICATING  RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION. 

No  one  can  feel  the  responsibility  of  making  the 
first,  the  deepest  impressions,  on  an  immortal  spirit 
on  the  subject  of  religion,  without  great  anxiety.  It 
is  difficult  to  know  when  we  are  in  the  right  way ; 
still  more  difficult  to  know  that  we  do  as  well  as 
we  are  able.  The  few  hints,  which,  in  this  Chap- 
ter, I  propose  to  throw  out  in  regard  to  the  best 
method  of  communicating  religious  instruction,  will 
be,  I  fear,  as  far  from  being  satisfactory  to  the  reader 
as  they  are  to  myself:  that  they  will  be  more  unsatis- 
factory, I  have  no  fear. 

Do  not  begin  the  work  of  teaching  with  a  radical 
mistake ;  viz.  that  it  requires  very  uncommon  talents 
to  teach  children.  • 

There  are  many  most  valuable  men  both  in  our 
churches  and  in  the  ministry,  who  never  make  any 
attempts  at  teaching  children,  because  they  think 
they  have  no  faculty  for  it ; — that  this  is  a  gift  of  na- 

176 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  177 

A  caution,— great  talents  not  necessary.  A  mistake  as  to  singing. 

ture  which  has  been  denied  them,  and  therefore  they 
can  never  exercise  it.  So  far  is  this  from  being  the 
case,  that  I  believe  it  to  be  no  more  the  gift  of  nature 
than  the  talent  to  express  your  thoughts  to  adults. 
By  attention  and  long  practice  you  can  communicate 
your  thoughts  to  old,  or  middle-aged  people ;  and  by 
practice  you  can  just  as  well  communicate  them  to 
children.  And  yet  how  often  do  we  hear  the  thought 
expressed,  that  it  requires  "<z  peculiar  talent"  to 
teach  children  !  What  a  dearth  of  teachers  in  most 
of  our  Sabbath  Schools,  because  the  impression  is  so 
general,  that  but  few  have  this  "  peculiar  talent !" 
How  many,  too,  would  at  once  leave  their  classes,  and 
retire  from  the  field, — could  their  places  possibly  be 
filled, — because  they  have  not  this  talent !  And  how 
many  just  drag  along,  year  after  year,  in  the  school, 
not  expecting,  not  trying  to  do  much,  because  they 
have  not  this  "  peculiar  talent !"  We  find  some  men, 
by  peculiar  circumstances,  becoming  painters,  musi- 
cians, and  artists,  The  taste  that  made  them  so,  is 
thought  to  be  a  peculiar  gift  of  nature.  Sometimes 
we  call  it  hereditary,  as,  for  example,  when  the  child 
of  a  musician  is  taught  music,  and  hears  music  only 
from  his  cradle,  and  grows  up  fond  of  music,  we  call 
it  an  hereditary  taste;  whereas,  had  this  child  as 
early  and  as  assiduously  been  taught  the  use  of  the 
pencil,  he  might  have  had  an  hereditary  taste  for 
painting.  Till  within  a  short  time,  it  was  supposed 
that  none  could  be  taught  to  sing  except  a  few  gifted 


178  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Power  of  interesting  children  may  be  cultivated.  Henry  Obookiah's  teacher. 

ones  who  were  highly  favored  by  nature.  It  is  now 
found  that  by  taking  children  early,  as  great  a  pro- 
portion can  he  taught  music,  as  can  be  taught  to 
speak  correctly.  Scarcely  such  a  thing  is  known  as 
a  blind  child  who  is  not  a  musician, — showing  most 
conclusively,  that  this  power  is  no  special  gift  of  na- 
ture. The  power  of  interesting  children  is  one  that 
can  be  cultivated  to  almost  any  extent ;  and  what  at 
first  seems  exceedingly  difficult,  is,  in  fact,  far  from 
being  so.  The  power  of  arresting  the  attention,  and 
of  interesting  a  class,  will  not  come  to  you  as  a  matter 
of  course,  without  laborious  efforts  on  your  part ;  but 
you  need  not  have  a  fear,  if  you  have  the  ordinary 
powers  of  men,  but  you  can  attain  to  excellence  in 
this  department. 

I  am  not  without  fears  lest  I  weary  my  reader  by  the 
exhortation,  be  simple — be  simple,  in  your  teaching. 
How  often  have  I  listened  to  the  teacher  who  was  al- 
most out  of  patience  as  he  said,  '  can  you  not  under- 
stand this  ? — it  is  very  plain  !'  Now  it  is  plain  to  you, 
but  what  is  so  easy  for  you  to  comprehend,  may  be  very 
difficult  for  the  child  to  understand.  I  have  no  doubt 
you  will,  with  pleasure,  read  the  following  paragraph 
from  the  memoir  of  Henry  Obookiah, — one  of  the 
most  interesting  youths  ever  converted  to  Christianity. 
"  When  he  began  to  read  in  words  of  one  or  two  syl- 
lables in  the  spelling-book,  there  were  certain  sounds 
which  he  found  it  very  difficult  to  articulate.  This 
was  true  especially  of  syllables  that  contained  the 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  179 

A  good  lesson  taught. 

letter  R :  a  letter  which  occasioned  him  more  trouble 
than  all  others.  In  pronouncing  it,  he  uniformly  gave 
it  the  sound  of  L.  At  every  different  reading  an 
attempt  was  made  to  correct  the  pronunciation.  The 
language  generally  used  on  such  occasions  was,  "  try, 
Obookiah,  it  is  very  easy"  This  was  often  repeated. 
But  it  was  soon  perceived  that  whenever  these  words 
were  used  they  excited  a  smile.  And  as  patience 
began  to  be  tried  by  many  unsuccessful  attempts,  and 
the  words  to  be  used  more  in  earnest,  he  was  observed 
to  turn  away  his  face  for  the  purpose  of  concealment, 
and  seemed  much  diverted.  As  he  was  unable  to 
express  his  thoughts  except  by  acts,  no  explanation 
was  made,  and  none  demanded.  The  reason  was 
scarcely  perceived.  But  as  the  attempts  to  correct 
the  error  were  at  last  successful,  the  circumstance 
was  soon  forgotten.  A  short  time  after  this,  long 
enough,  however,  for  Obookiah  to  have  made  some 
improvement  in  speaking  the  English,  his  instructor 
was  spending  an  evening  pleasantly  with  him,  in 
making  inquiries  concerning  some  of  the  habits  and 
practices  of  his  own  country.  Among  other  things, 
Obookiah  mentioned  the  manner  in  which  his  coun- 
trymen drank  from  a  spring  when  out  upon  their 
hunting  excursions.  The  cup  which  they  used  was 
their  hands.  It  was  made  by  clasping  them  together, 
and  so  adjusting  the  thumbs,  and  bending  the  hands, 
as  to  form  a  vessel  which  would  contain  a  considera- 
ble quantity.     Of  this  he  gave  an  example.     After 


180       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Results  of  the  experiment.  An  important  thing  to  be  remembered. 


preparing  his  hands,  he  was  able,  from  the  pliable- 
ne&s  of  his  arms,  to  raise  them  entirely  to  his  mouth, 
without  turning  them  at  all  from  their  horizontal 
position.  The  experiment  was  attempted  by  his 
instructor ;  but  he  found  that  before  his  hands  were 
raised  half  the  distance  to  his  mouth,  they  were  so 
much  inverted,  that  their  contents  would  have  been 
principally  lost.  He  repeated  the  trial  until  he  began 
to  be  discouraged ;  when  Obookiah,  who  had  been 
much  amused  with  his  efforts,  with  a  very  expressive 
countenance,  said  to  him,  "try,  Mr.  D.,  it  is  very 
easy!"  The  former  mystery  was  now  unravelled, 
and  an  important  lesson  taught  with  respect  to  the 
ease  or  difficulty,  with  which  things  are  done  by  us 
that  are  or  are  not  natural  to  us, — or  to  which  we 
have  or  have  not  been,  from  early  life,  accustomed" 
This  is  a  very  important  point.  We  forget  how 
and  when  we  have  obtained  our  knowledge,  and  are 
in  danger  of  speaking  to  children  just  as  a  Professor 
in  College  would  address  his  class.  Whereas,  we 
should  always  recollect,  that  what  is  so  easy  to  us,  is 
new,  if  not  incomprehensible,  to  the  child.  I  once 
made  the  experiment  with  a  little  boy,  of  trying  to 
make  him  understand  every  thing  which  I  taught 
him.  At  the  close  of  every  sentence  and  explanation 
I  would  ask  him  if  he  understood  it  1  He  soon  got 
so  used  to  it,  that  he  would  stop  me  and  say,  "  /  no 
stand;"  and  I  was  surprised  to  see  how  often  his 
open,  ingenuous  countenance  would  say,  "I no  stand." 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.       181 

Children's  views.  Three  modes  to  be  used. 

Just  make  the  experiment  any  way  you  please,  and 
you  will  be  surprised  at  the  result.  I  recollect  hav- 
ing a  long  conversation  with  a  little  girl  on  the  nature 
and  society  of  heaven, — the  characters,  employments 
there,  and  the  like.  After  a  protracted  and  very  in- 
teresting conversation,  by  which  I  supposed  she  had 
obtained  correct  impressions,  I  was  thrown  "  all 
aback,"  as  sailors  say,  by  her  asking  in  the  most  art- 
less manner,  "  whether  her  new  white  frock  would  do 
for  her  to  icear  there  /" 

The  teaching  in  the  class  may  be  divided  into 
three  modes,  each  of  which  should  be  used  for  the 
sake  of  variety :  explanatory,  by  which  the  truths 
and  facts  in  the  lesson,  including  the  words,  shall  be 
made  plain;  catechetical,  by  which,  by  means  of 
question  and  answer,  the  teacher  obtains  a  correct 
knowledge  how  the  lesson  is  understood,  wherein 
misconceived,  or  misapplied  ;  and  exhortatory,  or  the 
application,  by  which  the  lesson  is  applied  to  the 
conscience  of  the  child,  being  so  brought  home  to  his 
own  bosom,  that  he  cannot  escape  its  force.  These 
should  all  be  used,  as  times  and  circumstances  seem 
to  demand.  By  the  mere  mention  of  them,  the 
teacher  sees  that  in  the  order  of  nature,  variety  of 
manner  is  provided.  Sometimes  in  the  first  of  these, 
you  will  need  to  go  into  the  second  mode,  and  hold  a 
long  conversation  with  the  class,  before  you  can  get 
them  to  understand  you.  For  example,  the  teacher 
meets  with  the  word  Justice  in  the  Question-book, 
16 


182  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

An  illustration  of  an  example. 

and  asks  a  little  girl  what  it  means.  She  hesitates, 
thinks  a  moment,  and  says  she  cannot  tell.  "  I  will 
try  to  make  it  plain  to  you.  Suppose  it  to  be  a  rule 
in  the  school  that  the  child  who  told  a  falsehood 
should  never  again  be  received  into  the  school,  and 
that  each  teacher  was  to  see  this  rule  carried  into 
practice.  Suppose  two  of  my  scholars  should  be 
guilty  of  the  sin  of  falsehood,  and  I  should  send  one 
away,  and  leave  the  other  here,  because  I  loved 
her ; — would  this  be  justice  V1 

"  No." 

"  Suppose  one  of  these  guilty  children  were  my 
own  little  sister,  whom  I  loved  very  much,  and  there- 
fore I  let  her  stay,  wrhile  I  sent  others  away, — would 
this  be  justice  V 

"  No." 

"  Well,  then,  you  see  that  justice  is  treating  all 
persons  precisely  as  they  deserve,  without  following 
our  own  feelings  in  the  case.  But  I  will  make  this 
still  plainer.  I  have  a  book  in  my  hand  which  con- 
tains a  short  story,  and  which  makes  the  word  jus- 
tice very  plain.  Shall  I  read  it,  or  tell  it  to  you 
without  reading  V 

"  We  would  rather  have  you  tell  it  to  us" — 

"  True,  that  is  pleasanter ;  but  I  want  to  teach 
you  how  to  hear  books  read,  and  to  learn  to  read 
them,  and  therefore  justice  requires  me  to  read  it 
If  I  wish  to  teach  you  to  understand  books,  and  to  go 
to  them  yourselves,  should  I  be  doing  justly  towards 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.       183 

Story  of  the  Mexican  king's  justice. 

you,  always  to  tell  you  every  thing  without  reading 
any  thing  V 

"  No,  no  ; — we  will  hear  it  read." 

"  Very  well,  now  see  how  much  of  it  you  can  un- 
derstand.— I  will  read." 

"A  striking  instance  of  the  stern  and  impartial 
administration  of  justice,  is  afforded  in  the  history  of 
one  of  the  kings  of  Acalhuacan,  a  province  which 
composed  a  part  of  the  Mexican  empire.  There  was 
a  law  which  forbid,  on  pain  of  death,  the  speaking 
of  indecent  words  in  the  royal  palace.  One  of  the 
sons  of  this  king,  for  whom  he  had  felt  a  more  par- 
ticular attachment  than  for  any  of  the  rest,  on  ac- 
count of  his  disposition  and  virtues,  violated  this  law. 
The  words  made  use  of  by  the  young  prince  were 
rather  the  effect  of  youthful  indiscretion,  than  of  any 
bad  intention.  The  king  was  informed  of  it,  and  un- 
derstanding that  the  word  had  been  spoken  by  the 
prince  in  the  presence  of  his  tutors,  he  sent  to  ex- 
amine them.  They,  being  afraid  of  experiencing 
some  punishment  if  they  concealed  the  truth,  con- 
fessed it  openly,  but  at  the  same  time  endeavored  to 
exculpate  the  prince  by  saying  that  he  did  not  know 
the  person  to  whom  he  spoke,  nor  that  the  language 
was  improper.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  he  ordered 
the  young  prince  to  be  arrested  immediately,  and  the 
very  same  day  pronounced  sentence  of  death  upon 
him.  The  whole  court  was  astonished  at  the  rigor 
of  the  king,  and  interfered  with  their  prayers  and 


184  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  king's  son  executed  as  an  example  of  justice.         Variety  to  be  studied. 

tears  in  behalf  of  the  prince  ;  but  no  remonstrances 
could  move  the  inflexible  mind  of  the  king.  *  My 
son/  said  he,  '  has  violated  the  law.  If  I  pardon 
him,  it  will  be  said  the  laws  are  not  binding  on  every 
one.  I  will  let  my  subjects  know,  that  no  one  will 
be  pardoned  a  transgression,  as  I  do  not  even  pardon 
the  son  whom  I  dearly  love."  The  punishment  was 
accordingly  executed.  The  king  shut  himself  up 
for  forty  days  in  a  hall,  without  letting  himself  be 
seen  by  any  one.  He  vented  his  grief  in  secret,  and 
to  conceal  from  his  sight  every  thing  that  might  recal 
his  sorrow,  he  caused  the  door  of  his  son's  apartment 
to  be  closed  up  by  a  wall.  He  showed  his  subjects 
that  although  he  was  incapable  of  repressing  the 
feelings  of  a  father,  and  sealing  up  the  fountains  of 
his  grief,  yet  he  would  never  permit  them  to  over- 
come his  zeal  for  the  laws,  and  the  most  rigid  impar- 
tiality in  their  execution." 

"  You  have  now  heard  the  story,  children.  If  the 
king  seems  cruel  to  you  in  this  thing,  you  must  re- 
member that  he  was  a  poor  heathen  without  the 
Bible  to  instruct  him,  and  that  he  aimed  at  doing 
justice.  The  law,  perhaps,  was  too  severe,  but  it 
was  executed  with  justice.  And  hereafter,  when- 
ever you  see  or  hear  any  thing  about  justice,  you 
will  at  once  know  what  it  means." 

By  all  means  study  variety  in  giving  instruction  to 
children.  This  is  a  very  important  point,  and  one 
which  may  not  be   neglected.    Where  the  class  is 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER-  185 

The  little  girls  in  Wales. 

large  enough,  sometimes  it  will  be  well  to  vary  the 
lesson  so  far  as  to  give  a  topic,  or  a  doctrine,  and  re- 
quest them  to  bring  the  proof-texts  on  the  next  Sab- 
bath. This  will  occupy  their  spare  moments  during 
the  week,  and  give  the  teacher  an  admirable  oppor- 
tunity to  enter  into  close  conversations,  applying  the 
truths  to  the  conscience.  I  have  before  me  several 
letters  from  one  who  had  been  a  Superintendent  of 
a  Sabbath  School  in  Wales  for  many  years.  Speak- 
ing on  this  point,  he  says,  '  Jane  and  Ann  Whicher 
were  two  of  my  dear  Sunday  School  children,  the 
one  twelve,  and  the  other  thirteen.  They  had  an 
idle,  dissolute  father,  and  a  feeble,  afflicted  mother, 
and  they,  by  their  work  of  platting  straw,  supported 
them.  One  lesson  was  to  prove  that '  God  hears  and 
answers  prayer.'  I  always  encouraged  the  children 
to  put  marks  on  the  margins  of  their  Bibles,  opposite 
the  texts  of  Scripture  to  which  their  particular 
attention  had  been  called.  I  was  surprised  to  see  the 
number  of  bits  of  paper  put  into  their  books  on  the 
succeeding  Sabbath,  and  the  great  number  of  pencil 
marks  all  over  their  books.  After  expressing  my 
pleasure  at  their  selection  of  texts,  I  inquired  how  it 
was  that  they  found  so  many?  'Oh!  Sir/  replied 
the  youngest,  *  we  searched  from  Genesis  to  Revela- 
tion.' 'How  do  you  find  time  to  do  it,  while  your 
work  keeps  you  so  fully  occupied  V  *  Why,  Sir,  we 
keep  our  Bibles  open,  and  look  at  our  work,  and  then 
on  the  Bible.'  I  paid  them  a  visit  during  the  suc- 
16* 


186  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Second  hint,— views  of  children's  moral  character.  Illustration,— the  physician. 

ceeding  week,  and  found  them  at  their  work  of  plat- 
ting with  their  Bibles  open  before  them.  Their  poor 
mother  wept,  while  she  described  how  great  a  bless- 
ing they  were  to  her.  Both  of  them  afterwards  be- 
came members  of  our  church.' 

2.  The  teacher  who  would  convey  religious  in- 
struction properly,  must  have  right  views  as  to  the 
moral  character  of  children. 

Were  you  to  call  in  a  physician  to  see  your  child, 
you  would  wish  him  to  have  right  views  of  the  con- 
stitution of  your  child.  He  might  say,  '  this  young 
lady  has  a  slow  fever,  and  a  bad  cough,  but  I  think 
slight  remedies  will  cure  her.  She  ought  to  see 
cheerful  company,  attend  parties  of  pleasure,  and 
treat  herself  as  if  nothing  was  the  matter.'  *  But, 
Sir,'  you  reply,  '  the  mother  and  the  grand-mother 
of  this  child  died  of  consumption.  They  were  taken 
just  as  she  was.  From  her  childhood  she  has  seemed 
predisposed  to  this  disease,  and  I  am  fearful  that  a 
disease  which  in  some  sense  seems  hereditary,  may 
soon  leave  me  childless.'  '  Oh !  no,  Sir,  I  have  no 
belief  in  hereditary  diseases,  and  I  shall  treat  her 
as  if  Well,  only  giving  a  few  simple  things,  and  think 
she  will  throw  off  what  seem  to  be  only  the  effects 
of  a  cold.'  I  ask  my  reader  if  such  a  physician  is 
the  man  to  whom  he  would  entrust  the  life  of  a  be- 
loved child?  I  hope  to  be  excused  if  I  introduce 
here  the  simple  account  of  a  child's  views  in  regard 
to  heaven.    I  introduce  it,  not  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  187 

The  little  boy  and  the  dead  fly. 

hibiting  the  child,  but  the  views  of  the  parent  on  one 
of  the  most  important  points  ever  presented  to  the 
human  mind. 

"  I  was  roused  from  the  multitude  of  my  thoughts 
upon  a  sick  bed,  by  the  innocent  prattle  of  a  little 
boy,  whose  childish  soliloquy  seemed  to  accord 
strangely  with  my  own  speculations.  He  is  a  thought- 
ful, but  happy  child,  of  three  and  a  half  years  old, 
whose  innocent  feelings  seem  'to  rise  as  naturally 
and  affectionately  to  heaven,  as  to  the  friends  he' 
loves  here.  I  shall  give  exactly  his  own  sentiments 
in  his  own  language.  He  had  found  a  dead  fly  upon 
the  window,  and  laid  it  upon  his  little  fat  palm,  and 
was  looking  down  upon  it  with  a  beautiful  expression 
of  childish  hope  and  sorrow.  'Poor  fly,'  said  he, 
'  you  shall  not  lie  here,  and  burn  all  up  in  the  sun, 
if  you  are  dead.  I  will  take  you,  and  when  the  bell 
tolls  I  will  carry  you  to  the  burying-ground,  and  I  will 
say,  here  is  a  poor  fly  wants  to  be  buried  up ;  and 
they  will  take  you  and  put  you  away  down  in  the 
ground.  But  it  won't  hurt  you,  little  fly ;  for  you  will 
go  to  heaven,  and  be  very  happy  there,  with  the 
pretty  flowers,  and  you  will  never  die  again.  And 
when  I  go  to  heaven,  and  my  mother  goes  to  hea- 
ven, we  shall  see  you  again,  little  fly !'  And  he 
raised  his  blue  eyes  half  filled  with  tears,  to  my  face, 
and  said,  'won't  the  little  fly  go  to  heaven?1  I 
could  not  check  the  beautiful  sympathy  and  the 
kindly  affections  of  his  heart    And  he  loves  now  to 


188  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


The  mistake  a  deep  one.  Remarks  on  this  example. 

tell  of  the  beautiful  little  flowers  and  pretty  birds  he 
shall  see  in  that  world  of  love  and  happiness,  to 
which  he  is  ready  to  go  when  his  parents  and 
brothers  can  accompany  him." 

There  is  much  that  is  very  beautiful  in  all  this ; 
and  shall  I  not  be  excused  too,  if  I  say  there  is  much 
also  that  is  wrong  ?  Does  not  the  description  of  the 
human  heart,  "  whose  innocent  feelings  seem  to  rise 
as  naturally  and  affectionately  to  heaven,  as  to  the 
friends  he  loves  here,"  partake  more  of  poetry  than 
of  truth !  Take  that  child  and  strip  him  of  his  de- 
lightful home,  and  place  him  in  the  situation  of 
thousands  of  poor  children  in  our  great  cities,  and 
let  a  stranger  be  called  to  instruct  him,  and  will  his 
innocent  feelings  rise  naturally  to  heaven  ?  Or  is  he 
not  a  sinner, — will  he  not  sin  all  his  life,  even  when 
surrounded  with  God's  mercies, — and  would  he  not 
sin,  even  if  angels  were  to  become  his  teachers  and 
guides  ?  We  know  he  would.  The  best  teaching, 
the  holiest  example  will  be  so  far  from  making  him 
holy,  that  if  he  should  grow  up  wild,  thoughtless, 
wicked,  and  awfully  depraved,  though  it  would 
wring  many  hearts  with  anguish,  yet  it  would  not  be 
an  anomaly  in  the  world.  Talk  about  a  child's  feel- 
ings rising  naturally  to  heaven,  when  you  have  so 
far  neglected  his  education  that  he  knows  not  why  a 
fly  is  not  as  immortal  as  himself !  About  his  being 
willing  to  go  to  heaven  whenever  his  parents  and 
brothers  are  ready  to  accompany  him  !  Why,  all  the 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  189 

Bible  views  only  are  safe.  The  heart  is  unholy  by  nature. 

idea  he  has  of  heaven,  is  his  own  home,  with  the 
family-circle,  and  the  addition  of  some  beautiful 
flowers !  He  would  be  just  as  ready  to  accompany 
his  parents  and  friends  to  the  world  of  woe,  if  re- 
quested to  do  so.  He  can  form  no  idea  of  heaven, 
different  from  his  own  home.  I  do  not  complain  of 
the  flow  of  this  "  beautiful  sympathy ;"  nor  of  the 
love  of  the  parent  which  recorded  it ;  but  I  do  pro- 
test against  teachers  undertaking  the  great  work  of 
leading  children  to  God,  before  they  have  Scriptural 
views  of  the  real  state  of  the  human  heart.  The 
Bible  recognizes  none  who  are  by  nature  holy ; — but 
on  the  contrary,  by  nature  all  are  children  of  wrath, 
— all  need  regeneration,  and  the  sanctifying  influences 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  preacher  who  does  not  keep 
the  line  marked  and  distinct,  who  does  not  divide  his 
hearers  into  two  classes  only, — the  holy,  and  the  un- 
holy, will  not  be  likely  to  wield  the  sword  of  the 
spirit  with  power, — and  I  see  not  how  he  can  feel 
that  he  is  faithful  to  the  stewardship  committed  to 
him. 

I  would  not  have  the  Sabbath  School  teacher  feel 
that  the  children  gathered  around  him  are  high- 
handed sinners, — but  little  better  than  fallen  spirits, — 
that  they  are  to  be  treated  harshly,  or  scolded  into 
holiness ;  no  such  thing ;  but  I  would  have  him  un- 
derstand before  he  begins  the  work,  that  he  is  about 
to  deal  with  depraved  hearts ; — hearts  that  will  not 
naturally  rise  to  heaven,  nor  will  they  cherish  and 


190  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Third  hint,— must  have  the  confidence  of  the  children. 

love  the  light  of  the  Gospel  as  you  pour  it  into  their 
hearts.  The  heart  of  man  is  depraved.  The  earliest 
workings  of  the  soul  show  that  sin  is  there.  You 
cannot  find  the  time  when  the  soul  rises  naturally  to 
God  in  grateful  worship  and  love ;  and  while  you  will 
be  careful  to  let  your  religion  appear  as.  sincere,  as 
amiable,  as  pleasant,  as  you  can,  never  forget  that 
you  are  teaching  a  company  of  sinners.  Go  on  this 
principle  in  preparing  to  teach ;  go  on  this  principle 
in  communicating  instruction.  Instruct  them  as  sin- 
ners ;  feel  for  them  as  sinners,  pray  for  them  as  sin- 
ners. If  you  go  on  any  other  principle,  you  will  stop 
short  of  the  great  point  aimed  at, — the  renewing  of 
the  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Go  on  any  other  prin- 
ciple, and  you  will  soon  become  discouraged ;  that 
tree  which  you  have  so  assiduously  and  so  carefully 
watered,  does  not  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  holiness. 
It  is  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to  our  keeping  this 
line  between  converted  and  unconverted  men  so  dis- 
tinct and  clear,  that  this  land  has  been  so  abundantly 
blessed  with  frequent  and  powerful  revivals  of  re- 
ligion. 

3.  The  teacher  must  gain  the  confidence  and  af- 
fection of  his  class,  in  order  to  communicate  reli- 
gious instruction. 

The  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  understood  this 
well :  "  We  were  gentle  among  you,  even  as  a  nurse 
cherisheth  her  children :  so  being  affectionately  de- 
sirous of  you,  we  were  willing  to  impart  unto  you, 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  191 

Teacher  must  be  grave. 

not  the  Gospel  of  God  only,  but  also  our  own  souls, 
because  ye  were  dear  unto  us."  You  cannot  reach 
the  heart  of  a  child*  unless  he  feels  that  you  are  a 
warm,  personal  friend.  You  must  meet  him  with  the 
smile  of  love,  rather  than  in  the  sternness  of  authori- 
ty. He  must  be  controlled ;  but  feel  that  the  bonds 
of  friendship  are  around  him.  He  must  feel  that 
without  fee,  or  reward,  without  any  selfish  aims,  you 
are  laboring  for  his  best  good.  After  you  have  once 
obtained  the  confidence  of  a  child,  he  will  scarcely 
attempt  to  conceal  from  you  his  thoughts,  or  the 
emotions  of  his  heart.  In  order  to  gain  and  retain 
the  confidence  of  your  class,  let  there  be  no  lightness 
of  conduct,  no  trifling,  no  laughing,  no  undue  famili- 
arity. This  is  not  necessary.  Be  careful  too,  not  to 
wound  the  feelings  of  the  child  by  smiling  at  his 
ignorance  or  mistakes.  "  The  teacher,"  says  one  who 
has  had  great  experience,  "  should  have  great  com- 
mand over  his  risibilities.  I  have  often  had  replies 
to  questions  put  to  poor,  ignorant  boys,  almost  irre- 
sistibly ludicrous.  In  one  instance  there  was  some- 
thing so  exceedingly  ludicrous,  that  I  lost  self-com- 
mand and  laughed  heartily.  I  at  once  saw  that  I 
had  lowered  myself  in  the  estimation  of  my  pupils. 
I  was  letting  myself  down  to  a  level  with  them.  I 
had  laughed  in  God's  house,  on  his  day,  and  in  his 
presence,  when  sixty  immortal  souls  were  influenced 
by  my  conduct  I  have  too  frequently  seen  teachers 
guilty  of  similar  conduct."     No  child  intends  to  give 


192       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Regard  the  feelings  of  the  child.  Place  confidence  in  the  child. 

a  ludicrous  answer  to  your  question,  and  if  it  strikes 
you  in  that  light  and  you  laugh  at  him,  you  injure 
his  feelings,  and  leave  a  sting  winch  will  not  be  soon 
extracted. 

Besides,  you  will  he  very  careful  not  to  do  any 
thing  to  diminish  confidence  in  the  child,  because  you 
wish  to  draw  him  out  in  conversation.  Without  this, 
you  cannot  reach  his  mind,  cannot  determine  how 
much  mind  he  has,  how  far  it  has  been  cultivated,  or 
what  instruction  and  influence  it  now  needs.  If  the 
child  fears  lest  what  he  says  will  strike  his  teacher 
as  ludicrous,  or  that  he  will  throw  the  least  ridicule 
upon  his  answers,  his  heart  will  be  frozen,  and  the 
fountain  of  his  sympathies  will  be  dried  up.  Who 
cannot  recal  times  in  his  own  childhood,  when  he 
has  been  ridiculed,  perhaps  by  those  whom  he 
esteemed  his  best  friends,  when  his  feelings  received 
wounds  which  can  never  be  forgotten  while  life 
remains  1 

Be  careful,  so  far  as  possible,  not  to  doubt  the 
veracity  and  the  good  intentions  of  the  child.  Nothing 
will  so  soon  check,  and  kill  the  growth  of  confidence 
and  love  between  the  child  and  yourself,  as  imputing 
things  to  him  in  the  name  of  crimes,  when  he  is  in- 
nocent. I  once  knew  a  fatherless  child  have  his 
veracity  doubted  by  one  who  ought  to  have  known 
better.  All  he  could  say  to  prove  his  innocence  was 
turned  against  him,  and  he  was  treated  as  if  no 
proof  of  innocence  would  be  satisfactory.    The  child 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  193 

Example.  Beware  of  being  partial. 

colored,  sobbed,  and  retired ;  but  ten  thousand  kind- 
nesses, and  ten  thousand  good  opinions,  afterwards, 
could  never  erase  the  cruel  wound  from  his  bosom. 
The  affections,  the  love,  the  confidence,  were  never 
regained,  though  probably  the  person  who  thus  cut 
them  away,  forgot  it  in  a  few  months,  if  not  in  a  few 
days.  The  teacher  will  find  his  own  heart  a  good 
instructor  in  this  matter.  Every  thing  should  be 
avoided  which  will  tend  to  prevent  drawing  each 
child  out  into  familiar  and  frequent  conversations. 

If  I  mistake  not,  the  teacher  will  be  in  danger  of 
showing  something  which  resembles  partiality.  There 
will  be  some  who  are  more  prompt,  more  ready,  more 
attentive,  more  obedient,  more  affectionate,  than 
others.  They  show  more  interest  in  the  lessons,  and 
exert  themselves  to  make  their  teacher  feel  happy. 
It  will  be  impossible  for  the  teacher  not  to  feel  a 
partiality  for  such  scholars.  But  let  him  be  careful 
not  to  show  it  If  you  let  the  quick  and  the  ready, 
answer  nearly  all  the  questions  that  are  asked,  you 
discourage,  and  you  are  in  danger  of  disgusting  the 
rest  Children  are  quick  to  discover  partialities,  and 
keen  to  feel  them.  Every  one,  without  excep- 
tion, has  some  one  or  more  good  traits  of  character, 
though  there  may  be  many  that  are  bad,  counteract- 
ing them.  Try  to  discover  what  good  qualities  each 
child  has, — draw  them  out,  and  strengthen  them. 
This  will  give  you  a  new  and  a  deeper  interest  in  his 
welfare ;  and  this  interest  thus  created  in  your  own 
17 


194       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Class  must  have  confidence  in  the  teacher's  capacity. 


bosom,  will  soon  gain  his  confidence  and  love.  Many- 
Sabbath  School  children  already  feel  that  their 
teacher  is  by  far  the  best  friend  they  have  on  earth, 
and  the  one  to  whom  they  would  go  when  the  heart 
was  enduring  its  greatest  troubles. 

You  must  have  the  confidence  of  your  class,  not  in 
your  moral  honesty  and  disinterestedness  merely,  but 
also  in  your  intellectual  competency  for  your  station. 
It  is  sometimes  thought  that  an  incompetent  teacher 
will  do  for  a  class  of  very  small,  or  very  ignorant 
scholars.  This  is  not  so.  An  incompetent  teacher 
is  never  in  his  place  in  a  Sabbath  School.  Who 
needs  the  proof,  that  the  very  best  men  whom  the 
church  raises  up,  are  needed  to  go  as  missionaries 
among  the  heathen  1  And  yet  the  heathen  are  mere 
children  in  knowledge.  But  the  work  of  reaching 
and  enlightening  the  mind  debased,  sunken,  darkened, 
and  enfeebled  by  sin,  cannot  be  done  by  unskilful  men ; 
and  I  believe  our  best  teachers  ought  to  be  placed 
over  the  classes  which  are  the  lowest  and  the  most 
difficult  to  raise. 

So  much  depends  upon  the  confidence  and  affection 
of  your  class,  that  on  newly  entering  upon  the  duties 
of  teaching,  you  should  make  it  the  first  object  to 
secure  them.  Before  these  be  gained,  you  can  do 
nothing  to  any  good  purpose.  Seek,  then,  to  know 
the  habits,  the  disposition,  the  whole  character  of 
every  child  committed  to  you.  Visit  him  when  he  is 
sick ;  visit  him  at  his  home.     Show  him  that  you  are 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  195 

Fourth  hint,— must  have  the  power  of  gaining  and  keeping  the  attention. 

interested  in  him,  in  his  parents,  in  all  that  can  con- 
cern him.  No  heart  can  resist  kindness ;  and  when 
you  have  the  confidence  and  the  love  of  your  pupils, 
God  has  then  given  you  an  influence,  which,  in  most 
cases,  may  be  the  means  of  leading  them  to  the 
Lamb  of  God.  These  plants  are  delicate,  and  the 
soil  in  which  they  are  to  grow  may  be  very  unpro- 
pitious ;  but  still,  with  proper  care,  you  can  cause 
them  to  take  root  and  grow. 

4.  To  teach  with  success,  you  must  have  the  power 
of  gaining  and  keeping  the  attention. 

The  minds  of  children  are  so  taken  up  with  the 
trifles  of  the  world,  that  it  is  difficult  to  gain  and  fix 
the  attention.  But  a  greater  difficulty  arises  from 
the  fact  that  their  minds  are  undisciplined,  and  they 
are  unaccustomed  to  confine  their  thoughts  to  any 
particular  point  for  any  length  of  time.  The  teacher 
is  in  great  danger  of  feeling  disappointed  and  discour- 
aged at  this  stage,  if  he  be  not  well  prepared  to 
meet  difficulties.  You  prepare  the  mind  to  give  a 
good  exposition  of  the  lesson,  or  you  charge  the  soul 
with  a  solemn  exhortation,  and  in  the  midst  of  it, 
you  see  one  looking  out  of  the  window,  or  hearkening 
to  the  recitations  of  the  next  class,  or  perhaps  en- 
deavouring to  make  sport  for  one  across  the  room. 
Or  you  find  that  patience  is  exhausted,  and  they 
are  listless,  uninterested,  and  stupid,  while  you 
are  speaking.  Make  up  your  mind  to  meet  all  this, 
and  much  more  also.   Remember  that  your  ingenuity 


196  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


The  great  secret  of  success.  Example  of  teaching. 

will  be  more  taxed  by  gaining  and  keeping  attention 
than  by  all  other  things.  The  great  secret  of  success 
consists  in  having  your  own  mind  deeply  interested  in 
your  subject.  You  never  know  a  speaker  before  any 
audience  fail  of  fixing  attention,  when  it  is  very  ap- 
parent that  he  is  deeply  interested  in  what  he  is  say- 
ing. As  far  as  possible,  be  ready  to  connect  some 
interesting  instruction  with  all  your  conversations,  and 
with  the  answers  to  all  the  questions  put  to  you.  A 
teacher  is  engaged  in  the  historical  parts  of  the  Bible. 
He  comes  to  a  place  where  unclean  birds  are  forbid- 
den to  the  Jews.  The  Pelican,  the  Eagle,  and  the 
Swan,  are  among  them.  He  goes  into  the  reasons 
why  certain  creatures  were  forbidden  to  the  Jews  for 
food,  the  amount  of  which  is,  that  in  their  food,  dress, 
and  habits,  God  made  it  as  difficult  as  possible  for 
them  to  associate  with  the  heathen  by  whom  they 
were  surrounded.  He  also  adds  something  of  the 
natural  history  of  these  birds  as  their  names  occur. 
The  class,  if  they  are  somewhat  advanced,  will  ask 
questions. 

"  How  long  will  the  swan  live  ?" 

"  It  is  not  known.  A  goose  has  been  known  to  live 
an  hundred  years,  and  from  the  firmer  texture  of  the 
flesh  of  the  swan,  that  would  probably  live  longer." 

"  Does  the  swan  sing  V 

"  No,  I  believe  not.  The  ancients  used  to  suppose 
it  did ;  but  it  is  now  understood  that  it  utters  only  a 
kind  of  shrill  hiss,  or  whistle." 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  197 

The  swan.  Beautiful  poetry.  Swartz  the  Missionary. 

"  But  I  have  read  of  the  dying  song  of  the  swan, 
and  have  just  been  learning  some  beautiful  poetry 
about  it.   Is  it  not  true,  that  the  swan  ever  sings  so  1" 

"I  wish,  Caroline,  you  would  slowly  repeat  the 
poetry  about  it,  and  I  will  then  tell  you  how  true 
it  is." 

« I  will  try." 

"What  is  that,  Mother? 

The  swan,  my  love ; 
He  is  floating  down  from  his  native  grove, 
No  loved  one  now,  no  nestling  nigh ; 
He  is  floating  down  by  himself  to  die  : 
Death  darkens  his  eye,  and  unplumes  his  wings, 
Yet  the  sweetest  song  is  the  last  he  sings ! 
Live  so,  my  love,  that  when  death  shall  come, 
Swan-like  and  sweet,  it  may  waft  thee  home !" 

"  That  is  beautiful  indeed,  and  the  instruction  in 
the  last  two  lines  is  very  good.  But  poetry  need  not 
always  be  truth.  It  instructs  by  using  fables.  This 
is  one  of  the  fables  of  the  ancients.  But  I  can  tell 
you  about  a  death  which  is  equally  beautiful,  and  it 
is  all  true.     Shall  I  tell  it  to  you  V 

"  O  yes,  we  all  want  to  hear  it" 

"  You  have  all  heard  of  Swartz.  A  little  book 
containing  his  life  is  in  the  Library.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two,  having  been  a  missionary  forty- 
eight  years  in  India.  He  calculated  sometime  before 
his  death,  that  two  thousand  had  been  savingly  con- 
verted from  heathenism  by  his  means.  He  acquired 
17* 


198  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

His  character.  His  death. 

such  a  character  among  the  heathen,  that  when 
among  barbarous  and  lawless  robbers,  he  was  suffered 
to  pass  through  contending  parties  of  them  unmolested, 
and  unsuspected.  They  said,  let  him  alone — let  him 
pass — he  is  a  man  of  God.  A  tyrant,  named  Hyder 
Ally,  while  he  refused  to  enter  into  a  certain  treaty 
with  others,  said,  send  me  Swartz ;  send  me  the 
Christian  missionary,  for  him  only  can  I  trust. 
The  people  had  been  so  cruelly  treated  that  they 
left  their  lands,  and  refused  to  raise  any  thing.  All 
they  had  raised  had  been  seized  and  taken  away. 
The  whole  country  would  soon  have  been  in  a  famine. 
The  heathen  ruler  promised  justice,  and  tried  to  in- 
duce them  to  go  back  to  their  farms ;  but  all  in  vain. 
They  would  not  believe  him.  Mr.  Swartz  then  wrote 
to  them,  making  the  same  promises.  All  immediately 
came  back.  Seven  thousand  men  returned  to  their 
land  in  one  day.     Such  was  the  man. 

"  When  he  came  to  die,  he  was  lying  apparently 
lifeless,  when  Gericke,  a  worthy  fellow-laborer  from 
the  same  country,  who  imagined  that  the  immortal 
spirit  had  actually  taken  its  flight,  began  to  chant 
over  his  remains,  a  stanza  of  the  favorite  hymn 
which  they  used  to  sing  together,  and  soothe  each 
other  in  his  life-time.  The  verses  were  sung  through 
without  a  motion,  or  a  sign  of  sympathy  or  life  from 
the  still  form  before  him ;  but  when  the  last  clause 
was  over,  the  voice  which  was  supposed  to  be  hushed 
in  death,  took  up  the  second  stanza  of  the  same  hymn, 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  199 


Truth  to  be  remembered.  A  method  suggested. 

— completed  it  with  a  distinct  and  sweet  utterance, — 
and  then  was  hushed, — and  was  heard  no  more.  The 
soul  rose  with  the  last  strain !" 

"  Is  not  this  more  touching  and  beautiful  than  even 
the  poetry  about  the  dying  swan  ?  I  hope  you  will 
all  remember  it,  and  whenever  you  read  of  the  swan 
you  will  recollect  this  story,  and  recollect  how  sweetly 
death  comes  to  a  good  man,  who  has  faithfully  served 
Jesus  Christ.  We  must  now,  children,  go  on  with 
the  lesson." 

Such  a  digression  is  not,  in  my  opinion,  lost,  were 
there  nothing  but  the  association  of  the  swan  and 
the  death  of  Swartz  formed  in  the  memory.  But 
there  is  more ;  for  the  teacher  will  have  no  more 
difficulty  that  day  to  gain  and  hold  the  attention  of 
his  class. 

Sometimes  it  will  be  well  to  tell  all  your  class  to 
commit  a  certain  hymn,  or  a  certain  portion  of  Scrip- 
ture to  memory,  in  addition  to  the  stated  lesson.  Say 
that  if  they  will  all  commit  it  thoroughly,  you  will 
tell  them  the  reason  why  you  make  the  request  at 
another  time,  and  that  when  you  do  make  the  expla- 
nation, you  think  they  will  not  regret  having  learned 
it  By  this  means,  you  get  something  fastened  in  the 
memory, — you  awaken  curiosity,  you  draw  the  atten- 
tion of  all  th^e  class  towards  something  which  they 
hope  to  have  explained  hereafter.  In  this  way,  you 
are  sure  to  gain  attention,  close,  undivided  attention, 
till  that  which  excited  it  is  finally  disposed  o£     Per- 


200  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Illustration.  A  thing  proposed  to  the  class. 

haps  you  will  feel  that  the  illustration  given  above, 
is  beyond  the  comprehension  of  your  class.  They 
are  small,  and  ignorant.  You  will  remember  that 
this  illustration  is  not  for  your  class,  but  such  an  one 
as  might  be  used  in  fixing  the  attention  of  advanced 
classes.  I  will,  therefore,  suppose  your  class  to  be 
very  young.  They  live  in  the  country,  scattered  up 
and  down  the  hills  and  the  mountain-side.  You  are 
troubled  to  fix  their  attention,  and  are  using  various 
means  by  which  to  do  it.  You  begin  the  conversa- 
tion something  in  this  way. 

"  Mary,  have  you  learned  that  hymn  which  I 
marked  for  you  V  m 

"  No,  not  well  enough  to  say." 

"  But  could  you  not  learn  one  verse  V1 

"  Not  well  enough  to  say.  I  tried,  but  it  was  so 
hard." 

"  Well,  I  see  how  it  is.  How  far  do  you  live  from 
the  nearest  house,  Mary  ?" 

"  O  that  is  Mr.  Kelsey's !  It  is  more  than  half  a 
mile." 

"  Do  you  never  feel  lonely  when  you  are  left  by 
your  mother,  when  she  goes  down  to  the  store  V9 

"  O  yes,  Ma'am,  all  alone,  and  I  very  often  go  out 
and  swing  on  the  gate  and  cry,  till  mother  comes 
home." 

"  Well  I  have  got  a  verse  of  a  hymn  which  just 

suits  your  case,  Mary.     I  have  but  two  copies,  but 

^f  you  will  all  learn  it,  and  say  it  correctly  next  Sab- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  201 


Interesting  story.  The  poor  German  family. 

bath,  I  will  tell  you  a  story  which  has  something  to 
do  with  it  But  I  shall  not  tell  it,  unless  every  one 
of  you  has  learned  it.  What  do  you  say, — will  you 
try  1  Let  those  hold  up  their  hands  who  wish  to  learn 
it  Very  well.  Here  it  is.  You  must  contrive  to  lend 
it  from  one  to  the  other  during  the  week,  and  all 
must  learn  it,  or  I  do  not  tell  you  the  story." 

The  next  Sabbath  comes.  You  meet  the  little 
class.  They  are  all  there,  their  faces  bright  and  full 
of  hope.  You  go  through  the  lesson,  and  they  are 
all  attention.  You  say  nothing  about  the  hymn. 
But  after  the  lesson  is  through,  one  of  them  puts  you 
in  mind  of  the  hymn ! 

"  Oh  yes,  the  hymn !  I  had  not  forgotten  it,  but 
was  waiting  to  see  if  you  had.  Who  can  say  it,  and 
say  it  correctly  V* 

You  begin,  and  find  that  every  one  says  it  fluently, 
and  with  great  ease. 

"  Well,  children,  I  see  that  you  can  learn  hymns, 
and  I  hope  Mary  will  never  feel  so  lonely  again,  and 
never  say  again  that  she  cannot  learn  whatever  I 
give  her." 

*  Many  years  ago  a  German  left  his  country  and 
with  his  family  came  into  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
to  live  there.  He  was  a  poor  man,  and  had  a  large 
family.  There  were  no  schools  there  during  the 
week,  or  on  the  Sabbath,  and  no  churches.  So  the 
poor  man  used  to  keep  his  family  at  home  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  teach  them  from  God's  word, — for  he 


202  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


The  little  captive. 


was  a  very  good  man.  In  the  year  1754,  a  dreadful 
war  broke  out  in  Canada  between  the  French  and 
the  English.  The  Indians  joined  the  French,  and 
used  to  go  to  Pennsylvania,  burn  houses,  murder 
the  people,  and  carry  off  every  thing  they  wanted. 
They  found  the  dwelling  of  this  poor  German  family. 
The  man,  and  his  oldest  boy,  and  two  little  girls 
named  Barbara  and  Regina  were  at  home,  while  the 
wife  and  one  of  the  boys  were  gone  to  carry  some 
grain  to  the  mill  a  few  miles  off.  The  Indians  at 
once  killed  the  man  and  his  son,  and  took  the  two 
little  girls,  one  aged  ten  and  the  other  nine,  and  car- 
ried them  away,  along  with  a  great  many  other 
weeping  children  whom  they  had  taken  after  mur- 
dering their  parents.  It  was  never  known  what  be- 
came of  Barbara,  the  oldest  girl ;  but  Regina,  with 
another  little  girl  of  two  years  old,  whom  Regina 
had  never  seen  before,  were  given  to  an  old  Indian 
woman,  who  was  very  cruel.  Her  only  son  lived 
with  her,  and  supported  her  ;  but  he  was  sometimes 
gone  for  several  weeks,  and  then  the  old  woman 
used  to  send  the  little  girls  to  gather  roots  and  herbs 
in  the  woods,  for  the  old  woman  to  eat ;  and  when 
they  did  not  get  enough,  she  used  to  beat  them 
cruelly.  Regina  never  forgot  her  good  father  and 
mother,  and  the  little  girl  always  kept  close  to  her. 
She  taught  the  little  girl  to  kneel  down  under  the 
trees  and  pray  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  to  say  over 
with   her   all    the  hymns   which   her   parents   had 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  203 


Restoration  of  the  captives  by  the  Indians. 


taught  her.  In  this  state  of  slavery  these  children 
lived  for  nine  long  years,  till  Regina  was  about  nine- 
teen, and  her  little  friend  was  eleven  years  old. 
Their  hearts  all  this  time  seemed  to  wish  for  that 
which  is  good.  They  used  to  repeat  not  only  the 
texts  of  Scripture  which  Regina  could  remember, 
but  there  was  one  favorite  hymn  which  they  often 
said  over.  It  was  the  same  hymn  which  you  have 
just  now  been  saying  to  me  !  In  the  year  1764,  the 
kindness  of  God  brought  the  English  Colonel  Bouquet 
to  the  place  where  they  were.  He  conquered  the 
Indians,  and  made  them  ask  for  peace.  He  granted 
it,  on  condition  that  all  the  white  prisoners  and  cap- 
tives should  be  given  him.  More  than  four  hundred 
were  brought  to  the  Colonel ;  and  among  them,  these 
two  girls.  They  were  all  poor,  wretched  looking 
objects.  The  Colonel  carried  them  to  a  town  called 
Carlisle  in  Pennsylvania,  and  had  it  printed  in  all 
the  newspapers,  that  all  parents  who  had  lost  chil- 
dren by  the  Indians,  might  come  and  see  if  they  were 
among  the  four  hundred  poor  captives.  Poor  Regi- 
na's  sorrowing  mother, — a  poor  widow,  among  others 
went  to  Carlisle  to  see  if  she  could  find  her  children ! 
But  when  she  got  there,  she  did  not  and  could  not 
know  Regina.  She  had  grown  up,  and  looked,  and 
dressed,  and  spoke  like  the  Indians.  The  mother 
went  up  and  down  among  the  captives  weeping,  but 
could  not  find  her  child.  She  stood  gazing  and 
weeping,  when  Colonel  Bouquet  came  up  and  said, 


204  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


The  mother  finding  her  child. 


"  do  you  recollect  nothing  by  which  your  child  might 
be  discovered?'  She  said,  she  recollected* nothing 
but  a  hymn  which  she  used  often  to  sing  to  her  chil- 
dren, and  which  is  as  follows : — 

.      Alone,  yet  not  alone  am  I, 

Though  in  this  solitude  so  drear ; 
I  feel  my  Savior  always  nigh, 
He  comes  the  weary  hour  to  cheer. 
I  am  with  him  and  he  with  me, — 
E'en  here  alone  I  cannot  be  !" 

"  The  Colonel  desired  her  to  sing  the  hymn  as  she 
used  to  do.  Scarcely  had  the  poor  mother  sung  two 
lines  of  it,  when  Regina  rushed  from  the  crowd,  be- 
gan to  sing  it  also,  and  threw  herself  into  her 
mother's  arms.  They  both  wept  for  joy,  and  the 
Colonel  gave  the  daughter  up  to  her  mother.  But  the 
other  little  girl  had  no  parents.  They  had  probably 
been  murdered.  She  clung  to  Regina,  and  would 
not  let  her  go,  and  so  she  was  taken  home  with  Re- 
gina, though  her  mother  was  very  poor.  Regina  be- 
gan to  ask  after  "  the  book  in  which  God  speaks  to 
us."  Rut  her  mother  had  no  Bible, — for  the  Indians 
burned  her  Bible  when  they  burned  her  house  and 
killed  her  family.  Her  mother  resolved  to  go  to 
Philadelphia  and  buy  a  Bible ;  but  her  good  minister 
gave  her  one,  and  it  was  found  that  Regina  could 
read  it  at  once.' 

"  You  see,  children,  why  I  wished  you  to  learn 
that  particular  hymn, — the  same  hymn  by  which 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  205 

Labor  not  to  be  spared.  James  Hervey. 

this  poor  mother  and  child  were  restored  to  each 
other.  I  know  by  your  looks  that  you  have  under- 
stood the  story,  and  hope  you  will  always  remember 
the  beautiful  hymn,  and  the  story  connected  with  it." 

Does  my  reader  say  that  he  cannot  illustrate  or 
keep  attention  awake  by  a  story  every  Sabbath? 
Nor  do  I  ask  him  to  do  it  I  only  tell  him  how  he 
certainly  can  awaken  and  fix  the  attention  as  often 
as  he  pleases.  Does  he  say  that  this  is  an  expensive 
way  of  teaching, — that  it  will  cost  time  and  reading 
and  planning  and  thinking?  I  reply  that  you  can 
have  nothing  valuable  without  taking  pains,  and 
laboring  for  it.  If  it  requires  trouble  to  fix  and  keep 
the  attention  of  your  class,  you  are  abundantly  re- 
paid for  all  this,  by  their  decided  improvement.  As 
I  am  certain  that  I  could  fill  half  a  volume  at  once 
from  recollection,  with  illustrations  which  might  be 
used  to  fasten  instruction,  and  to  fix  the  attention,  I 
cannot  readily  see  why  teachers  might  not  do  it  to 
any  desirable  extent. 

Few  have  been  more  successful  in  teaching  chil- 
dren than  James  Hervey.  "On  such  occasions," 
says  he,  "I  endeavor  to  comprehend,  not  all  that 
may  be  said,  but  that  only  which  may  be  level  to 
their  capacities,  and  is  most  necessary  for  them  to 
know.  The  answer  to  each  question  I  explain  in  the 
most  familiar  manner  possible,  in  such  a  manner  as  a 
polite  hearer  might  treat  with  the  most  sovereign 
contempt ;  little  similes  I  use,  that  are  quite  low.  In 
18 


206       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  great  art  of  teaching.  A  faithful  teacher. 

every  explanation  I  would  be  short,  but  repeat  it 
again  and  again ;  tautology  in  this  case  is  the  true 
propriety  of  speaking  to  our  little  auditors,  and  will 
be  better  than  all  the  graces  of  eloquence." 

To  sum  up  all  that  I  would  wish  to  say  in  this 
chapter,  the  great  art  of  teaching  children  and 
youth,  is  to  be  yourself  interested,  deeply  interested 
in  what  you  teach.  This  will  lead  you  to  try  various 
methods  of  attaining  the  great  object  proposed ;  it 
will  lead  you  to  study,  to  fill  the  mind  with  thought, 
and  to  simplify  your  modes  of  communicating  your 
thoughts.  It  will  call  forth  your  ingenuity  to  contrive 
in  what  ways  you  can  best  reach,  enlighten,  and  im- 
press the  heart,  form  habits  for  this  life,  and  guide  the 
soul  to  the  next.  The  following  beautiful  testimony  of 
a  teacher's  faithfulness  was  found  among  her  papers 
after  she  had  gone  to  the  sleep  of  death.  *  A  class 
of  seven  was  committed  to  me  for  instruction, — of 
different  ages,  from  twelve  to  sixteen,  and  one  was 
older  than  that.  Most  of  them  were  girls  with  whom 
I  had  little  or  no  acquaintance,  and  as  I  took  my 
place  with  them  for  the  first  time,  I  feared  I  should 
not  have  a  very  interesting  class.  However,  I  re- 
solved to  be  faithful  to  my  trust  when  with  them, 
and  in  my  preparation  to  meet  them ;  though  often 
fearful  that  I  fell  very  far  short  both  in  teaching 
them,  and  in  commending  their  case  to  God  in 
private. 

It  has  been  my  habitual  practice  to  press  upon 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  207 


Her  method  of  teaching.  Results. 

their  attention  those  questions  in  the  lessons  which 
are  addressed  to  the  conscience  and  the  heart ;  and 
frequently  to  ask  a  number  more,  which  the  subject 
seemed  to  suggest,  that,  if  possible,  some  valuable  and 
lasting  impressions  might  be  made  ;  always  requiring 
every  scholar  to  pay  her  undivided  attention  during 
the  whole  recitation.  Sometimes  I  was  hurt  to  ob- 
serve some  individual  in  the  class  to  be  gazing  about 
the  house  in  a  careless  manner ;  but  in  general  their 
attention  seemed  absorbed  in  the  lesson. 

*  About  the  middle  of  summer,  one  of  the  oldest 
members  of  the  class  began  to  be  anxious  about  the 
salvation  of  her  soul.  This  concern  continued  for 
several  weeks,  until  three  more  of  the  class  were 
saying,  what  shall  we  do  to  be  saved  1  These  four 
were  all  soon  brought  to  rejoice  in  hope.  Two  of 
the  others,  I  soon  found,  were  mourning  over  their 
lost  state  as  sinners,  while  one  seemed  hardened,  and 
I  feared  would  be  left  to  her  own  chosen  way. 

'  It  was  my  usual  practice  to  inquire  of  each  indi- 
vidual respecting  the  state  of  her  mind,  after  the 
close  of  the  recitation,  in  addition  to  the  practical 
remarks  during  recitation.  Before  the  time  for  clos- 
ing the  summer  term  arrived,  I  had  the  happiness  of 
hearing  every  member  of  my  class  express  her  hope 
in  Christ,  and  of  seeing  six  of  them  united  with  the 
church.    (The  seventh  united  soon  after.) 

*  I  could  not,  should  I  attempt  it,  describe  what  my 


208       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Conclusion. 

feelings  were,  on  meeting  my  class  all  rejoicing  in  the 
Savior. 

*  I  do  not  know  that  my  instructions  were,  in  any 
considerable  degree,  the  means  of  leading  the  class 
to  seek  religion ;  this  is  left  to  be  developed  another 
day.  But  I  felt  when  I  saw  them  all  hoping  in  the 
Savior,  as  if  I  should  like  to  commit  them  to  the 
care  of  some  other  person,  and  take  another  class, 
that  I  might  still  teach  sinners.' 


CHAPTER  VII. 


INFANT  SABBATH  SCHOOLS. 


Buffon,  in  his  Natural  History,  describes  the  wild 
Ass  which  was  brought  to  France,  and  which  was 
the  only  one  he  ever  saw.  He  says  it  was  nearly 
wild  when  it  arrived,  but  after  great  labor  and  pains 
to  subdue  him,  they  at  length  got  him  so  tame  that 
a  man  dared  mount  him,  having  two  additional  men 
to  hold  him  by  the  bridle.  He  was  restive  like 
a  vicious  horse,  and  obstinate  as  a  mule ;  still,  Buffon 
thinks  that  if  he  had  been  accustomed  to  obedience 
and  tameness  from  his  earliest  years,  he  would  be  as 
mild  as  the  tame  ass,  or  the  horse,  and  might  be 
used  in  their  place. 

Now  the  Scriptures  describe  human  nature  by 
saying,  that  '  man  is  born  like  a  wild  ass's  colt !'  If 
this  graphic  description  be  correct,  then  we  cannot 
be  too  anxious  to  begin  the  process  of  subduing  and 
training,  too  early.  The  men  who  are  engaged  in 
catching,  taking  and  exhibiting  wild  beasts,  never 

18*  909 


210       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Scripture  account  of  children.  Hard  to  civilize  a  savage. 

think  of  catching  one  that  is  old,  or  even  grown  up. 
They  take  them  as  young  as  possible,  and  even  then, 
find  it  difficult  to  manage  them.  They  act  on  the 
soundest  principles  of  wisdom. 

The  experiment  has  often  been  made  of  taking 
young  savages,  sometimes  from  the  Indians  of  this 
continent,  and  sometimes  from  the  eastern  Isles,  and 
educating  and  civilizing  them ;  after  expending  much 
money  and  pains-taking,  we  have  almost  uniformly 
been  disappointed  by.  having  them  return  to  savage 
life,  and  savage  habits.  Some  years  since  a  young 
New  Zealander  was  carried  to  England,  where  he 
lived  many  years,  was  carefully  educated,  and  intro- 
duced into  the  most  refined  society.  When  his  edu- 
cation was  completed,  he  returned  to  his  home,  and 
at  once  returned  to  the  habits,  the  character,  and  the 
degradations  of  savage  life.  This  has  almost  uni- 
formly been  the  result  of  attempts  to  civilize  and 
educate  young  savages.  And  why  ?  On  what  prin- 
ciple can  it  be  accounted  for?  I  reply,  that  the 
work  was  begun  too  late.  The  impressions  made 
upon  early  childhood  cannot  be  effaced.  You  may 
take  the  young  savage,  and  make  a  palace  his  home, 
and  he  is  like  the  wild  ass's  colt ;  he  longs  for  the 
forest,  for  the  lawlessness  of  savage  life.  This  prin- 
ciple is  deep,  uniform,  unalterable.  I  cannot  describe 
it  so  well  as  it  has  been  done  by  a  gifted  pen ;  and  the 
description  is  so  true  to  nature,  and  so  beautiful,  that 
I  cannot  deny  the  reader  the  privilege  of  enjoying 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  211 


Illustrated. 


what  can  never  be  read,  without  stirring  up  the  deep- 
est fountains  of  the  soul.  I  refer  to  Mrs.  Hemans's 
exquisite  description  of  the  deep  impressions  which 
are  made  upon  early  childhood ;  and  though  longer 
than  I  could  wish,  yet  I  can  see  no  part  that  may  be 
omitted.  It  is  a  dialogue  between  a  patrician  lady, 
and  a  poor  boy  from  the  mountains,  whom  she  wishes 
to  adopt  as  her  son. 

Lady.    "  Why  would'st  thou  leave  me,  oh !  gentle  child  1 
Thy  home  on  the  mountain  is  bleak  and  wild, 
A  straw-roofed  cabin  with  lowly  wall — 
Mine  is  a  fair  and  pillared  hall, 
Where  many  an  image  of  marble  gleams, 
And  the  sunshine  of  pictures  forever  streams !" 

Boy.    "  Oh !  green  is  the  turf  where  my  brothers  play, 
Through  the  long  bright  hours  of  the  summer  day ; 
They  find  the  red-cup  moss  where  they  climb, 
And  they  chase  the  bee  o'er  the  scented  thyme ; 
And  the  rocks  where  the  heath-flower  blooms  they  know, — 
Lady,  kind  lady,  oh  !  let  me  go !" 

Lady.   "  Content  thee,  boy,  in  my  bower  to  dwell ! 
Here  are  sweet  sounds  which  thou  lovest  well ; 
Flutes  on  the  air  in  the  stilly  noon, 
Harps  which  the  wandering  breezes  tune ; 
And  the  silvery  wood-note  of  many  a  bird, 
Whose  voice  was  ne'er  in  thy  mountains  heard." 

Boy.    "  My  mother  sings,  at  the  twilight's  fall, 
A  song  of  the  hills  far  more  sweet  than  all ; 


212  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Beautiful  poetry. 


She  sings  it  under  our  own  green  tree, 
To  the  babe  half  slumbering  on  her  knee, — 
I  dreamt  last  night  of  that  music  low, — 
Lady,  kind  lady,  oh !  let  me  go !" 

Lady.    "  Thy  mother  hath  gone  from  her  cares  to  rest, 
She  hath  taken  the  babe  on  her  quiet  breast ; 
Thou  would'st  meet  her  footstep,  my  boy,  no  more, 
Nor  hear  her  song  at  the  cabin  door ; 
Come  thou  with  me  to  the  vineyards  nigh, 
And  we  '11  pluck  the  grapes  of  the  richest  dye !" 

Boy.    "  Is  my  mother  gone  from  her  home  away  ? 
But  I  know  that  my  brothers  are  there  at  play ! 
I  know  they  are  gathering  the  foxglove's  bell, 
And  the  long  fern-leaves  by  the  sparkling  well, 
Or  they  launch  their  boats  where  the  blue  streams  flow,- 
Lady,  kind  lady,  oh !  let  me  go !" 

Lady.    "  Fair  child,  thy  brothers  are  wanderers  now, 
They  sport  no  more  on  the  mountain's  brow, 
They  have  left  the  fern  by  the  spring's  green  side, 
And  the  streams  where  the  fairy  barks  were  tied ! 
Be  thou  at  peace  in  thy  brighter  lot, 
For  thy  cabin-home  is  a  lonely  spot !" 

Boy.    "  Are  they  gone, — all  gone  from  the  sunny  hill  1 
But  the  bird  and  the  blue-fly  rove  o'er  it  still ; 
And  the  red  deer  bound  in  their  gladness  free, 
And  the  heath  is  bent  by  the  singing  bee, 
And  the  waters  leap,  and  the  fresh  winds  blow, — 
Lady,  sweet  lady,  oh !  let  me  go !" 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  213 

Depth  of  early  impressions.  Education  begins  early. 

My  reader  will  say,  not  merely  that  this  is  beauti- 
ful, but  that  it  is  true  to  nature.  The  man  whose 
childhood  was  spent  on  the  sea-shore,  who  often  at 
that  period  stood  on  the  firm  rocks  eyeing  the  storm, 
and  the  heaving  of  the  deep,  as  the  white  waves 
rolled  in  upon  the  rocks,  will  never  forget  the  impres- 
sions. These  scenes  will  haunt  him  through  life,  and 
often  in  his  dreams  will  he  plant  his  foot  on  the  very 
place,  and  leap  the  deep  crevices,  as  he  used  to 
do  when  a  boy.  A  gentleman  was  conversing  with  a 
fine  young  chamois-hunter  on  the  Alps,  upon  the 
dangers  to  which  he  exposed  himself.  The  young 
man  stood  upon  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  and  draw- 
ing up  his  noble  figure,  and  grasping  his  rifle  still  closer, 
replied,  '  my  father  and  my  grand-father  both  lost 
their  lives  in  this  business, — they  lived  in  that  little 
cot  where  I  live.  I  expect  one  day  to  lose  my  life 
in  the  same  way ;  but  I  would  not  exchange  my  home 
and  my  situation  for  that  of  the  richest  man  on  the 
wide  face  of  Europe.' 

Let  any  one  take  two  children  at  the  age  of  seven 
years,  the  one  the  son  of  a  savage,  and  the  other  the 
son  of  a  gentleman,  and  it  would  be  next  to  impossi- 
ble, by  any  training,  however  skilful,  to  make  their 
characters  alike.  The  love  of  savage  life,  the  im- 
pressions of  childhood,  could  never  be  removed.  But 
let  these  boys  be  educated  together,  without  any  dis- 
tinction, from  the  age  of  two  years,  and  the  results 
would   undoubtedly  be  widely  different.     Probablv 


2 14  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Character  formed  early.  Sensible  remarks. 

more  is  learned,  and  deeper  impressions  are  made 
upon  the  mind  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  months 
and  three  years,  than  during  the  same  period  of  time, 
in  any  subsequent  part  of  life.  From  the  hour  that 
the  child  becomes  capable  of  noticing  what  is  pass- 
ing around  him,  he  receives  impressions  from  exam- 
ple, and  circumstance  and  situation.  So  powerful, 
indeed,  are  the  gradual  and  unnoticed  influences  of 
these  early  days,  that  we  not  unfrequently  see  the 
indulged  and  humored  infant  a  petty  tyrant  before 
a  year  old,  at  two  years  of  age,  a  discontented,  irri- 
table thing,  causing  every  one  but  its  mother  to  turn 
away  from  it  with  disgust.  At  this  period  of  life,  the 
child  is  making  observations,  forming  opinions,  and 
acquiring  habits.  Notions,  right  or  wrong,  are  now 
becoming  so  completely  a  part  of  his  character,  that 
they  can  never  be  eradicated.  He  can  now  be  made 
so  fearful  and  superstitious,  that  through  life  he  will 
dread  to  see  "  the  new  moon  over  his  left  shoulder," 
and  will  never  feel  perfectly  calm  alone  and  in  the 
dark.  We  should  not  lay  the  blame  on  the  disposition, 
as  we  are  too  apt  to  do,  till  we  are  sure  that  the 
glaring  defects  of  character,  which  are  frequently 
seen  in  manhood,  are  not  the  results  of  neglected 
education,  just  as  we  frequently  see  a  tree,  stunted 
and  dwarfed  by  a  wall,  a  shade,  or  a  dry  soil. 

'Education  begins  with  life.  The  touch  first  min- 
isters to  it ;  afterwards  the  sight ;  and  then  the  hear- 
ing.    This  is  our  guide  in  seeking  to  assist  the  pro- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  215 


Simplicity  desirable. 


gress  of  Nature.  We  must  begin  with  present  and 
tangible  things ;  we  must  then  give  absent  things  a 
visible  form  by  picture ;  and  the  picture  which  meets 
the  eye  may  lead  to  the  description  which  finds  its 
way  to  the  mind  only  by  the  ear.  The  reason  why 
the  earlier  instructions  of  the  nursery  should  be  thus 
embodied  in  picture,  in  story,  and  in  narration,  is  evi- 
dent ;  children  cannot  understand  any  thing  beyond 
them.  Every  thing  is  fresh  to  the  mind  of  a  child. 
Curiosity  is  constantly  awake,  and  novelty  is  con- 
stantly feeding  it.  Objects  and  incidents  which  have 
no  interest  for  adult  life,  are  sufficient  to  entrance  the 
thought  of  infancy,  and  fill  the  heart  with  bounding, 
new-born  ecstacy.  Many  persons  in  writing  for  chil- 
dren have  evidently  forgotten  to  sympathise  with  the 
period  of  childhood.  They  have  ceased  to  remember 
with  distinct  vividness,  the  times  in  which  men  and 
women  were  all  kings  and  queens  to  them;  a  house 
their  world ;  a  garden  their  paradise,  and  the  merest 
trifles  were  possessed  of  a  mysterious  power  to  agitate 
them  with  anguish  or  delight  The  evil  of  such  writing 
for  such  a  period  of  life,  dwells  not  simply  in  the  bad 
taste  which  it  exemplifies.  Unnatural  in  itself,  it 
produces  unnatural  and  even  dangerous  consequences. 
The  mind  of  infancy,  moved  by  the  gentlest  impulses, 
is  over-strained  and  distorted  by  the  violence  of  such 
premature  excitation.  Terror  is  produced  instead 
of  fear,  suspicion  instead  of  caution,  extravagance 
instead  of  generosity,  and  morbid  sentiment  instead  of 


216       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Education  begins  with  Life.  Reasons  for  infant  classes. 

benevolent  principle.  These  effects,  in  numerous  in- 
stances, have  been  perpetuated  through  every  period 
of  after-life.  The  man  and  the  woman  have  never 
been  able  to  recover  themselves  from  the  fear  and 
apprehension,  the  false  sentiment,  and  injurious  ex- 
citement, which  are  considered  to  be  common  to 
childhood,  but  which  are  not  proper  to  it,  and  which 
will  only  be  common  to  it,  as  the  child  is  exposed  to 
injurious  treatment,  by  the  absurd  tales  of  the  nurse, 
or  the  nursery  book.' 

The  preceding  remarks  have  been  made  to  show, 
what  ought  to  be  engraven  on  the  heart  and  memory 
of  all, — that  education  begins  with  life.  Before 
we  are  aware,  the  foundations  of  the  character  are 
laid,  and  no  subsequent  instruction  can  remove  or 
alter  them.  Linnaeus  was  the  son  of  a  poor  Swedish 
clergyman.  His  father  had  a  little  flower-garden,  in 
which  he  cultivated  all  the  flowers  which  his  means 
or  his  taste  could  select.  Into  this  flower-garden  he 
introduced  his  little  son  from  his  infancy ;  and  this 
little  garden  undoubtedly  created  that  taste  in  the 
child  which  afterwards  made  him  the  first  botanist 
and  naturalist  of  his  age,  if  not  of  his  race. 

The  reader  will  infer  also  from  what  I  have  said, 
that  I  am  in  favor  of  having  infant  classes  attached 
to  every  Sabbath  School  where  it  is  practicable.  I 
do  not  mean  that  they  should  be  in  the  same  room, 
but  that  each  church  should  endeavor  to  have  such 
a  school,  and  for  the  same  great  objects  for  which 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  217 


First  reason. 


they  have  the  Sabbath  School  at  all.  But  with  a 
view  to  being  definite,  I  will  briefly  sum  up  the  rea- 
sons for  such  schools. 

1.  It  tmll  give  two  or  three  years  of  additional 
culture,  both  intellectual  and  moral. 

Very  many  parents  complain  that  their  circum- 
stances prevent  their  continuing  their  children  at 
school  so  long  as  they  could  wish ;  but  they  seem  to 
forget  that  they  may  gain  all  that  they  want,  and 
even  more,  by  beginning  their  education  two  years 
earlier.  I  have  often  seen  children  taken  from  school 
at  sixteen,  the  parents  lamenting  that  their  circum- 
stances would  not  allow  them  to  continue  longer  at 
study ;  while  these  parents  seem  to  forget  that  had 
they  begun  sufficiently  early,  their  children  might 
have  had  what  was  equivalent  to  two  years  more  of 
education ;  just  as  I  have  seen  a  farmer,  whose  lot 
faced  the  street,  exert  himself  and  violate  his  con- 
science by  removing  his  fence,  and  crowding  up 
towards  the  road ;  perhaps  he  would  gain  half  a  rod 
of  land,  the  whole  length  of  his  lot ;  while  at  Jjie 
back-side  of  the  lot  there  would  be  a  rod  or  two  over- 
run with  brush  and  briars,  which,  if  cultivated,  would 
be  equally  valuable  with  that  in  front.  How  many 
are  solicitous  to  cultivate  the  front  of  the  lot,  and 
leave  the  back  to  the  dominion  of  briars  and  thorns! 
But  the  plan  of  having  infant  classes  attached  to  the 
Sabbath  School,  brings  the  child  under  moral  and 
intellectual  culture  at  the  right  time ;  and  if  the  in- 
19 


218  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Time  gained.  Second  reason,— educated  naturally. 

struction  be  judiciously  managed,  it  will  place  the 
child  in  advance  of  children  who  do  not  have  it. 
There  can  be  no  question  of  this.  Not  that  the  child 
can  gain  as  much  knowledge  which  will  abide,  be- 
tween two  and  four  years  of  age,  as  between  sixteen 
and  eighteen ;  but  if  his  education  begins  at  two,  he 
will  at  four  years,  have  that  discipline  of  mind  by 
which,  at  the  end  of  ten  years  more,  he  will  be  as 
well  educated  as  if  he  began  two  years  older,  and 
continued  his  education  the  same  length  of  time.  It 
is  the  early  discipline  of  mind,  and  the  early  impres- 
sions, which  are  so  important  in  the  education  of  an 
immortal  being. 

2.  Such  schools  lead  the  child  up  in  nature's  own 
way. 

There  is  only  one  possible  way  by  which  an  infant 
class  can  be  taught,  interested,  and  kept  together ; 
and  that  is  by  following  the  path  of  nature.  Any 
thing  artificial,  strained,  or  labored,  will  not  do  here. 
At  a  boarding  school,  or  at  an  academy,  you  may 
create  artificial  character  and  taste :  but  in  a  class 
of  little  children,  you  must  be  simple,  easy,  natural, 
in  your  instruction.  Every  one  knows  how  difficult 
it  is  to  unlearn  what  is  wrong.  For  example,  if,  when 
a  child,  you  learned  to  spell  certain  words  incorrectly, 
you  know  how  difficult  it  is  in  after  years  to  spell 
them  right.  So  of  pronunciation,  or  of  any  other 
wrong  habit.  No  small  part  of  education  is  spent  in 
unlearning  what  is  wTong.     But  begin  to  teach  chil- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  219 


Third  reason,— valuable  habits.  Examples  of  bad  habits  early  formed. 

dren  in  the  Infant  class  on  the  principles  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  in  the  only  way  in  which  at  that  age  you 
can  interest  them,  and  you  avoid  all  this.  Education 
begun  in  the  simple  way  in  which  nature  teaches, 
becomes  invaluable,  because  its  progress  is  easy,  and 
rapid.  Habits  are  formed  which  may  be  carried 
through  life.     Hence, — 

3.  Invaluable  habits  are  found  in  the  infant 
class. 

The  most  valuable  part  of  education  consists  in 
giving  the  child  a  command  over  his  own  powers  of 
mind.  Take,  for  example,  the  power  of  commanding 
the  attention.  Some  have  this  power  in  great  per- 
fection, and  can  at  any  moment  task  the  mind ;  others 
can  do  it  more  imperfectly ;  and  others,  to  a  very 
limited  extent.  You  will  frequently  find  a  conscien- 
tious man  who  mourns  over  his  condition.  He  tells 
you  that  in  worship,  and  even  in  prayer,  his  attention 
will  wander.  He  joins  in  the  prayer  which  is  offered, 
follows  a  little  way,  and  then,  before  he  is  aware, 
off  flies  the  mind,  and  he  is  thinking  about  something 
else.  Again  he  brings  it  back,  fixes  his  attention,  and 
resolves  that  his  nind  shall  wander  no  more;  the 
resolution  is  scarcely  made,  before  he  is  again  gone. 
It  does  not  alter  the  case,  whether  he  is  in  the  house 
of  God,  at  the  family  altar,  or  in  the  closet.  He 
wonders  why  it  is  so,  and  mourns  over  the  state  of 
heart  which  allows  it.  Now  all  this  wandering  of 
the  mind  could  be  controlled,  had  the  man  learned 


220  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Examples  continued. 


how  to  do  it  in  childhood.  How  many  hours  of  sor- 
row, how  much  loss  of  enjoyment,  comfort,  and  im- 
provement would  have  been  prevented,  had  he  only 
learned  how  to  command  his  attention  in  early  life ! 

Take  another  example,  that  of  reasoning.  We 
are  commanded  '  always  to  be  ready  to  give  a  rea- 
son for  the  hope  that  is  in  us.'  But  how  frequently 
do  you  find  men  who  cannot  command  an  argument, 
nor  answer  an  objection;  not  because  they  are  so 
ignorant,  but  because  they  cannot  command  their 
thoughts  and  gather  up  their  strength  at  once.  They 
can  reason,  but  so  slowly  that  it  is  of  no  practical 
use ;  can  answer  an  objection,  but  not  till  the  ca vil- 
er has  gone  away,  and  gone,  believing  them  unable 
to  answer  him.  This  is  all  owing  to  the  want  of 
the  habit  of  using  the  powers  of  the  mind  from  in- 
fancy. It  will  all  be  prevented  by  the  proper  use 
of  the  Infant  Sabbath  School.  No  one,  who  has  not 
examined  the  subject  with  attention,  can  conceive  of 
the  advantage  which  a  power  over  the  mind,  acquired 
in  very  early  life,  gives  to  its  possessor ;  and  few  are 
aware  how  much  of  this  discipline  may  be  very 
early  obtained.  I  will  adduce  an  example  to  the 
point.  There  were  two  little  boys  who  were  twins, 
whose  names  were  James  and  John.  They  were 
just  six  years  old.  One  day  their  teacher  had  been 
telling  them  about  God, — how  great,  and  wise,  and 
good  he  is.  Among  other  things  he  said  that  *  God 
was  so  great,  that  he  filled  all  heaven.'     After  their 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  221 


Dialogue  between  twins.  The  principle  illustrated. 


teacher  had  left  them,  they  began  to  talk  about  what 
they  had  heard  from  their  instructor. 

"  John,"  said  James,  "  did  not  our  teacher  say  that 
God  was  so  great  that  he  filled  all  heaven  V 

"  Yes." 

"  And  he  said  that  the  heaven  of  heavens,  which 
is  the  greatest  heaven  of  all,  could  not  hold  him  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  John,  if  God  is  so  very  great  that  he  fills 
all  heaven,  I  don't  see  how  there  will  be  room 
enough  for  us,  and  so  we  can't  go  there." 

*'  Come  to  the  window,"  said  John.  "  Do  you  see 
that  man  yonder  coming  down  the  street,  and  walk- 
ing this  way  towards  us  V 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  James,  you  can  think  all  the  way  to  him, 
so  that  your  think  reaches  all  the  way  to  him." 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  then,  James,  does  your  think  stop  the  man 
from  walking  towards  us  V 

"  Why,  no." 

"  Well  now,  God  is  just  like  our  think ;  and  if  our 
think  does  not  stop  the  man  from  walking  towards 
us,  neither  will  God  stop  us  from  going  to  heaven. 
He  fills  heaven,  I  suppose,  just  as  your  think  fills  all 
along  up  the  street" 

Here  then  was  reasoning,  sound,  correct,  unan- 
swerable reasoning.  It  was  natural  too;  the  first 
object  seen,  a  man  walking,  served  for  an  illustration, 
19* 


222  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Fourth  reason, — counteract  wrong  teaching.    Fifth  reason,— useful  to  families. 

— it  is  easy,  simple,  and  yet  as  correct  as  a  learned 
Professor  could  have  given.  But  nothing  but  a  very 
early  discipline  of  mind  could  have  given  such  power. 
It  is  this  very  discipline  which  the  child  acquires  in 
the  infant  class. 

4.  It  will  be  the  means  in  many  instances  of  coun- 
teracting the  poison  of  wrong  example  and  wrong 
teaching  at  home. 

The  teacher  should  not  accustom  himself  to  suppose 
that  the  teaching  and  example  at  home  must,  of 
course,  be  wrong.  He  will  find  many  delightful  ex- 
amples to  the  contrary.  But  in  very  many  cases,  he 
will  find  the  child  yet  so  stupid  that  he  has  hardly 
noticed  example  or  instruction, — his  mind  not  yet 
having  been  aroused,  or  else,  that  so  far,  he  has  been 
educated  wrong.  In  consequence  of  those  influences 
and  circumstances  in  which  you  find  the  child,  he  would 
grow  up  a  very  imperfect,  and  perhaps  a  very  unde- 
sirable character  ;  but  by  taking  him  now,  just  as  his 
powers  begin  to  develop,  and  his  mind  to  expand, 
you  may  lay  the  foundations  for  a  character,  every 
way  desirable.  You  may  undo,  and  more  than  undo 
all  that  is  done  even  at  home,  to  lead  him  to  ruin,  for 
this  life  and  the  next. 

5.  It  will  be  the  means  of  doing  good  to  the  f  ami 
lies  in  which  the  children  live. 

You  take  the  child  from  the  nursery.  Perhaps  his 
parents  have  just  enough  of  what  looks  toward  reli- 
gion, to  let  him  go  to  the  Infant  Sabbath  School. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  223 


Prejudices  easily  excited. 


This  indeed  is  a  part  of  their  religion.  The  child 
has  his  memory  and  thoughts  tilled  with  what  is  good, 
— with  simple  precepts  from  the  Bible,  or  beautiful 
thoughts  which  piety  has  expressed  in  poetry.  He 
carries  these  home,  he  prattles  and  repeats  them  all 
over  at  home,  and  the  parents  every  day  hear  the 
prattler.  They  listen  to  his  hymns ;  he  asks  them 
questions,  tells  what  his  teacher  says  at  the  school, 
and  what  God  says  in  his  word.  Now  it  is  not  in  the 
human  heart  to  hear  this  from  a  beloved  child,  and 
remain  unaffected.  The  little  preacher  will  be  heard, 
and  he  will  throw  an  arrow  too,  which,  though  it 
goes  from  a  feeble  bow,  may  be  made  to  sink  into  the 
heart  by  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Thus 
every  child  becomes  a  little  missionary,  and  preaches 
the  Gospel  in  the  nursery,  in  the  parlor,  and  to  those 
who,  perhaps,  would  neither  hear  nor  heed  it  from 
any  other  person. 

The  prejudices  of  some  parents  are  easily  excited, 
and  the  teacher  should  take  great  care  to  allay  them 
as  easily  and  as  quickly  as  possible.  As  soon  as 
practicable,  they  should,  a  few  at  a  time,  be  invited 
to  visit  the  school. 

'After  laboring  for  about  a  fortnight,  (in  a  new 
school  at  Glasgow,)  not  a  little  surprise  arose  from  a 
diminution  in  the  number  of  the  pupils,  the  cause  of 
which  we  were  unable  to  conjecture.  A  singular 
incident,  however,  unravelled  the  mystery.  While 
busily  engaged  one  morning,  a  person,  apparently 


224       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


An  instance  of  this. 


about  forty-five  years  of  age,  with  well-patched  gar- 
ments, and  much  shrewdness  of  countenance,  came 
in,  and  without  uttering  a  word,  took  a  chair  with 
the  greatest  gravity,  and  looked  all  around  with  the 
most  prying  and  minute  attention. 

*  As  he  had  violated  the  rule  laid  down,*  and  evi- 
dently was  not  one  of  those  who  had  been  engaged 
in  establishing  the  school,  I  approached  him,  and 
stated,  that,  as  his  presence  interrupted  the  children, 
I  must  request  him  to  withdraw ;  assuring  him  that, 
in  a  few  days  more,  ample  opportunity  would  be 
given  the  public  of  observing  the  effects  of  what  was 
then  doing.  To  this  he  replied,  without  the  move- 
ment of  a  muscle,  "  I'm  thinking,  ye  ken,  there  can 
be  no  gude  ganging  on  where  people  wish  to  keep 
things  sae  muckle  to  themsels."  I  then  proceeded  to 
reason  with  him  on  the  necessity  and  propriety  of 
the  regulation,  when  he  answered  in  the  same  imper- 
turbable style,  "  Ye  '11  no  hae  time  to  du  what  ye 
expect ;  for  its  weel  understood  what  ye're  doing,  and 
ye'll  maist  sartainly  be  defaited.  I  am  thinking 
ye  dinna  find  sae  mony  bairns  as  ye  had  when  ye 
first  begun."  Becoming  very  impatient,  from  the  in- 
creasing disorder  of  the  children,  I  urged  him  to  re- 
tire ;  when,  as  he  arose,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
going,  he  said,  "  It's  my  duty  to  tell  ye,  that  it's  cur- 
rently reported  in  the  neebourhood,  that  ye're  teach- 

*  It  was  agreed  that  no  persons  should  visit  during  the  first 
month. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  225 


Sixth  reason, — cultivate  the  conscience. 


ing  the  children  the  Roman  Catholic  releegion,  and 
1  am  weel  satisfied  its  true,  for  I've  seen  for  mysel ; 
and  there's  the  beads  ye  learn  the  children  to  count." 
To  my  great  astonishment,  the  object  he  pointed  out 
was  the  Arithmeticon,  which  I  told  him  was  the  in- 
strument which  we  employed  for  teaching  numbers, 
and  many  other  things ;  and  on  which  I  promised,  if 
he  would  sit  down  again,  to  give  him  a  lesson.  He 
seated  himself  accordingly,  observed  its  adaptation 
to  the  purpose  with  great  delight,  and  stated,  at  the 
close  of  the  explanation,  that  he  was  perfectly  satis- 
fied, and  would  do  all  in  his  power  to  bring  back  the 
absentees.  He  kept  his  word  to  the  letter,  went 
round  to  all  the  parents  himself,  and,  in  consequence, 
the  whole  of  them  returned." 

6.  It  will  be  the  means  of  early  developing  and 
cultivating  the  conscience. 

No  one,  probably,  can  tell  how  or  when,  the  idea 
of  God,  the  grand  conception  of  an  omniscient,  pre- 
siding mind,  first  reached  him.  It  was  too  early  for 
memory  to  retain.  But  whenever  this  idea  does  be- 
come formed  in  the  mind,  then  conscience  can  be 
called  out  and  cultivated.  Of  course,  this  is  at  a  very 
early  period  of  life.  This  is  the  great  work  of  life. 
Some  do  not  use  the  means  to  awaken  and  call  con- 
science into  being ;  others  do  not  assiduously  cultivate 
and  cherish  her  when  developed.  Proper  teaching 
will  always  create  conscience,  and  give  her  power, 
even  though  you  may  not  be  sensible  of  it  at  the 


226       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

An  example  adduced.  Materials  to  be  used  in  an  infant  school. 

time.  "  I  had  taken  some  pains,"  says  a  teacher,  "  to 
explain  the  tenth  commandment  to  the  infant  school 
under  my  care.  A  few  weeks  afterwards,  I  was  in 
company  with  one  of  the  little  girls,  who  was  about 
five  years  old.  In  the  course  of  our  conversation  we 
spoke  of  another  child  of  the  same  age,  that  lived 
very  near.  "  Charlotte,"  said  she,  with  much  anima- 
tion, "  has  got  a  pair  of  new  shoes ;  they  are  blue, 
and  very  handsome."  Then  pausing  a  minute,  with 
her  eyes  fixed  on  the  floor,  she  added,  "  but  I  must 
not  covet"  I  had  some  fear  that  this  child  did  not 
derive  much  benefit  from  the  school;  but  I  saw 
enough  in  this  incident  to  correct  my  mistake,  to  in- 
spire me  with  new  zeal  and  confidence."  Every 
degree  of  influence  which  conscience  can  obtain  over 
the  child  in  the  very  morning  of  its  existence,  the 
greater  power  will  he  have  to  resist  temptation,  the 
more  likely  will  he  be  to  become  a  blessing  here,  and 
a  monument  of  the  grace  of  God  forever  in  heaven. 

Permit  me  now  to  mention  the  materials  with 
which  you  can  operate  in  the  instruction  of  an  infant 
class. 

There  will  always  be  some  things  which  are  local, 
which  are  peculiar  to  your  school,  and  peculiar  to 
each  individual ;  but  I  intend  to  mention  only  those 
which  are  general,  universal,  permanent,  and  upon 
which  you  may  always  rely  without  a  possibility  of 
being  deceived. 

(a.)  Love  of  friends.   It  is  not  in  the  heart  of  man 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  227 

Love  of  friends.  Love  of  imitation. 

to  do  otherwise  than  love  those  who  love  us.  No 
child  will  come  to  your  school  who  does  not  love  his 
parents,  and  his  nurse,  and  love  them,  too,  just  in 
proportion  as  he  has  been  the  object  of  love.  You 
may  make  use  of  this  principle.  You  may  call  the 
warm  affections  of  the  child  around  you,  may  gain 
his  confidence,  and  so  obtain  his  love,  that  he  will  put 
his  very  heart  into  your  hand  to  be  moulded  by  you 
at  your  pleasure.  Strive,  then,  to  make  each  child 
your  friend, — feel  as  a  friend  to  him,  and  he  will  re- 
ciprocate your  love.  His  heart  has  not  been  chilled 
by  heartless  professions,  nor  has  he  yet  learned  that 
there  may  be  butter  and  honey  upon  the  tongue, 
while  there  is  war  in  the  heart.  Let  him  not  learn 
this  lesson  from  you. 

(b.)  Love  of  imitation  is  a  natural  principle,  on 
which  you  may  rely  with  certainty. 

The  mother  takes  her  infant  in  her  arms,  and 
smiles  in  his  face,  till  he  imitates  and  catches  the 
smile,  and  returns  it  This  is  probably  the  first  at- 
tempt of  the  child  to  imitate ;  but  from  that  moment, 
he  never  ceases  to  imitate,  more  or  less,  till  he  dies. 
Every  one  knows  how  quickly  a  child  will  catch  the 
tones  used  in  the  nursery,  will  repeat  the  stories,  or 
the  songs,  the  words,  the  looks,  and  the  motions,  of 
those  with  whom  he  associates.  It  is  thus  that  a 
child  is  so  quickly  corrupted,  and  often  ruined  by  as- 
sociating with  other  children  who  have  already  been 
corrupted  by  others.    I  have  seen  a  little  fellow  walk 


228  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


An  example  in  Africa. 


the  paved  street  with  his  mouth  filled  with  oaths  and 
segars,  declaring  that  he  did  not  believe  the  Bible ! 
The  poor  child  probably  could  not  even  read  the 
book  of  God,  but  was  imitating  some  poor,  depraved, 
apology  for  a  man.  A  traveller  noticed  this  love  of 
imitation  even  in  Africa,  f  Resting  one  day,'  says  he, 
'  while  our  oxen  were  feeding,  I  remarked  a  number 
of  children  around  our  wagon,  humming  a  tune,  to 
which  they  were  beating  time.  Their  appearance 
instantly  suggested  the  idea  of  an  infant  school.  I 
communicated  my  idea  to  Mr.  Read,  who  had  ac- 
quired some  knowledge  of  the  system.  We  instantly 
arranged  them  to  the  number  of  perhaps  fifty,  to 
make  the  experiment.  In  the  midst  of  Caffreland, 
among  some  of  the  most  beautiful  scenery  in  the 
world,  I  observed  the  readiness  and  enthusiasm  with 
which  the  children  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  sys- 
tem, and  heard  them  pronounce  the  English  words 
which  they  had  never  before  heard  with  all  the  pro- 
priety that  might  have  been  expected  in  an  English 
school,  and  saw  the  eagerness  with  which  the  parents 
partook  of  the  delight  of  the  children.  I  could 
scarcely  believe  my  own  eyes  and  ears,  and  could 
not  help  reflecting  what  a  mighty  influence  these 
schools  might  have  in  raising  that  interesting  people, 
had  we  only  the  necessary  agents  and  apparatus."* 

*See  "Early  Discipline  Illustrated"  by  Wilderspin,  the 
principal  originator  of  the  Infant  School  System. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  229 


Power  of  imitation. 


A  still  more  interesting  instance  of  the  strong  ten- 
dency to  imitate,  which  children  possess,  will  be  found 
in  a  paragraph  from  the  same  writer. 

"  A  very  pious  and  excellent  man,  who  had  been 
in  his  majesty's  service,  and  had  lost  part  of  his  right 
arm,  was  engaged  as  master.  My  opinion  was  that 
he  would  be  suitable  in  every  respect ;  but  I  was  in 
an  error,  as  the  sequel  proved.  All  acquainted  with 
the  infant  system  know  that  it  includes  much  manual 
exercise, — such  as  clapping  hands,  putting  the  arms 
out  horizontally,  and  holding  them  up  perpendicularly, 
— and  with  these  evolutions  he  was  much  pleased ; 
but  having  only  one  hand,  he  was  compelled  to  pat 
with  his  stump.  In  consequence  of  this,  every  child 
in  the  school,  to  my  great  surprise,  bent  his  arm  and 
patted  with  his  elbow ;  when  I  told  them  to  put  their 
arms  out,  they  still  bent  one  in  imitation  of  him,  and 
twisted  the  body  round  to  make  the  shortened  arm 
parallel  with  the  other;  and  every  movement  was 
made  in  the  same  way.  I  bade  them  not  to  do  so, 
but  in  vain ;  and  as  great  distortion  would  have  re- 
sulted, I  was  compelled  most  reluctantly  to  dismiss 
him. — The  necessity  of  this  he  clearly  saw,  and,  from 
his  delight  in  the  work,  greatly  deplored. 

"  I  have  since  seen,  from  visiting  many  schools,  that 
any  physical  defect  should  prevent  the  engagement 
of  a  person,  however  desirable  in  other  respects, 
either  as  a  master  or  mistress.  I  know,  for  instance, 
a  master  who  had  a  cast  in  his  eye,  and  all  the  young 
20 


230  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  principle  of  curiosity. 

children  squinted ;  and  another  who  had  a  club-foot, 
in  imitation  of  whom  all  the  children  limped.  Should 
a  teacher  stutter  or  stammer,  the  young  children, 
from  the  strength  of  the  imitative  power,  at  a  very- 
early  age,  will  do  so  too.  Similar  effects  will  arise 
from  any  defects  of  this  kind  in  monitors,  and  hence 
children  in  such  circumstances  should  not  be  thus 
advanced." 

(c.)  You  have  the  principle  of  curiosity. 

The  whole  world  is  not  only  new  to  the  child,  but 
it  is  deeply  interesting.  He  first  acquires  knowledge, 
and  gratifies  his  curiosity  by  his  taste,  next  by  the 
eye,  then  by  feeling,  and  then  by  the  ear.  These 
are  only  the  avenues  through  which  he  seeks  to  grat- 
ify his  curiosity.  As  the  life  of  man  here  is  but  a 
vapor,  as  he  comes  into  the  world  entirely  ignorant 
of  every  thing,  it  is  a  wise  provision  of  God,  that  he 
shall  not  only  learn  as  he  lives,  but  that  his  curiosity 
shall  ever  make  him  awake,  and  eager  to  learn. 
There  is  no  pleasure  in  ignorance,  while  every  acqui- 
sition of  knowledge,  however  small,  gives  us  pleasure. 
A  child  will  frequently  destroy  his  play-things  to  see 
how  they  are  made.  More  than  one  child  has  been 
sufficiently  precocious  to  break  open  his  rattle-box,  to 
discover  what  it  was  that  made  the  noise.  It  would 
be  a  hopeless  task  to  instruct  a  child,  were  it  not  for 
this  principle  of  curiosity.  As  it  is,  the  teacher  may 
not  only  use  it,  but  he  may  stimulate  it,  by  letting 
the  little  learner  see  that  he  can  obtain  knowledge, — 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  231 

The  principle  of  confidence.  This  is  implicit. 

that  he  can  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  having  his  awaken- 
ed curiosity  gratified.  Remember  that  this  principle 
of  curiosity  will  be  gratified ;  and  if  not  learning 
what  is  good,  every  child  will  be  learning  what  is 

evil. 

(e.)    You  have  the  principle  of  confidence  to  aid 

you. 

No  species  of  duplicity  is  more  cruel  than  that 
which  abuses  the  confidence  which  the  child  natural- 
ly puts  in  those  who  are  older  than  himself.  You 
may  go  into  the  nursery  and  tell  him  of  ghosts,  and 
fairies,  and  witches,  and  he  will  believe  it  all.  You 
may  tell  him  any  story,  however  improbable,  and  as 
his  experience  cannot  detect  the  improbabilities,  he 
will  receive  it  as  truth.  You  may  make  promises, 
and  they  will  be  received  as  good :  and  it  is  not  till 
months  and  years  of  deception,  not  till  his  heart  has 
been  wrung  with  disappointments,  that  he  learns  not 
to  give  you  his  implicit  confidence.  His  confidence 
is  like  the  fresh  rose  that  opens  in  your  garden  in  the 
morning, — as  sweetly  and  as  beautifully  blooming,  as 
if  it  were  not  possible  that  its  very  glories  should 
tempt  you  to  pluck  it,  then  neglect  it,  and  then  throw 
it  away.  You  will  make  abundant  use  of  the  confi- 
dence of  the  children  in  the  Infant  class,  but  you 
must  beware  how  you  abuse  it  Take  every  proper 
method  to  let  the  child  see  that  you  put  confidence 
in  him,  and  he  will  reciprocate  it  all. 


232  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Natural  conscience.  Abuse  of  this  by  tyrants. 

(e.)  You  have  a  natural  conscience  by  which  to 
operate. 

There  seems  to  be  a  reverence, — an  innate  principle 
of  reverence  towards  God,  created  in  the  heart  of 
man,  and  engraven  on  his  very  constitution.  When 
the  mind  is  darkened,  misguided,  or  instructed  wrong, 
this  becomes  fear  and  superstition.  When  it  is  con- 
trolled by  the  will  of  a  despot,  it  becomes  the  iron 
instrument  with  which  tyranny  crushes  our  race. 
The  despot  always  seizes  hold  of  this  principle,  and 
makes  use  of  it  for  his  own  selfish,  unholy  purposes. 
You  will  find  this  principle  in  the  mind  of  every 
child,  more  or  less  distinctly  developed ;  and  you  can 
and  ought  to  make  use  of  it.  You  may  always  take 
it  for  granted  that  the  principle  of  reverence  will  be 
found  in  the  heart.  You  could  not  create  it,  were  it 
not  so ;  but  as  it  is,  you  may  use  it  at  once,  and  al- 
ways in  the  great  and  difficult  work  of  instructing 
the  child.  This  is  the  conscience, — a  fire  which 
burns  beautifully  in  the  morning  of  life, — whose  flame 
is  smothered  by  the  dirt  of  earth  during  the  days  of 
youth  and  manhood, — but  which,  at  the  close  of  life, 
again  frequently  breaks  out,  its  flame  fed  by  remorse, 
— showing  with  what  fearful  light  it  will  flash  upon 
the  soul  forever. 

These  are  the  materials  with  which  you  will  begin 
the  work  of  teaching  an  infant  class  on  the  Sabbath. 
There  are  others,  such  as  memory,  hope,  fear,  and 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  233 

First  hint,— great  apparatus  not  necessary. 

the  like,  but  they  can  all  be  resolved  into  those  al- 
ready enumerated. 

I  proceed  to  give  a  few  hints  on  the  instruction  of 
an  infant  class  in  the  Sabbath  School. 

1.  Do  not  feel  that  an  extensive  apparatus  is  ne- 
cessary. 

There  are  cards,  and  pictures  of  almost  every 
thing  in  nature,  prepared  for  Infant  schools.  They 
may  all  have  their  use  at  particular  times,  and  under 
particular  circumstances.  But  we  want  to  be  able 
to  say  to  any  man  and  to  any  lady  who  has  a  heart  to 
be  useful,  you  need  not  wait  and  mourn  that  you  have 
not  all  the  apparatus  prepared  for  infant  schools.  You 
may  not  get  these  for  years,  and  may  never  do  it. 
Are  you  willing  and  desirous  to  go  to  the  work  1  If 
so,  let  there  be  no  delay.  Who  would  think  of  keep- 
ing a  steamboat  on  the  stocks,  and  never  launching 
her  and  putting  her  to  use,  because  she  has  not  yet 
all  the  paintings,  gildings,  carvings,  awnings,  and  trap- 
pings, with  which  such  vessels  are  so  abundantly  deco- 
rated,— which  add  to  their  expense  enormously,  and 
consequently  to  the  expenses  of  travelling  in  them  ? 
Who  would  mourn  that  his  steam-engine  had  not  more 
wheels  and  cogs,  more  valves  and  machinery  about  it, 
when  every  bystander  sees,  that  the  very  simplicity,  is 
its  excellence  ?  The  fact  is,  many  an  infant  school 
has  failed  and  come  to  nothing,  though  burdened  with 
apparatus, — because  the  teacher  relied  on  these  to  do 
the  work  of  sustaining  the  school ;  while  others,  with 
20* 


234  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  splendid  hotel.  Children  require  diversion. 

no  apparatus,  or  next  to  none,  have  lived  and 
flourished.  I  once  stopped  at  a  hotel  which  my 
fellow-passengers  greatly  admired.  The  carpets  were 
Brussels,  the  tables  of  rich  mahogany,  we  had  silver 
forks  with  which  to  eat,  and  plated  candlesticks  and 
wax  candles  with  which  to  go  to  bed,  servants  so 
numerous  as  to  be  annoying.  I  could  not  admire  it,  for 
I  observed  that  almost  all  who  put  up  there,  put  on 
the  airs  of  rich  people,  and  high-livers  at  home,  and 
when  they  left,  found  their  bills  such  as  would  not 
be  likely  to  tempt  them  to  go  there  again.  In  every 
thing  that  is  valuable,  or  with  which  we  can  take 
comfort,  there  must  be  simplicity.  I  know  of  several 
most  interesting  and  valuable  Infant  Schools,  in 
which  the  only  apparatus  is  the  Bible,  and  perhaps 
a  few  printed  hymns. 

The  reader  will  be  instructed  as  well  as  amused 
on  reading  the  following  description  of  Wilderspin's 
first  attempt  at  teaching  an  Infant  School. 

*  As  soon  as  the  mothers  had  left  the  premises,  I 
attempted  to  engage  the  attention  of  their  offspring. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  effort !  A  few,  who  had  been 
previously  at  a  dame-school,  sat  quietly  ;  but  the  rest, 
missing  their  parents,  crowded  about  the  door.  One 
little  fellow,  finding  he  could  not  open  it,  set  up  a 
loud  cry  of  "  Mammy  !  Mammy  !"  and  in  raising  this 
delightful  sound,  all  the  rest  simultaneously  joined. 
My  wife,  who,  though  reluctant  at  first,  had  deter- 
mined, on  my  accepting  the  situation,  to  give  me  her 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  235 

An  amusing  instance  of  this. 

utmost  aid,  tried,  with  myself,  to  calm  the  tumult ;  but 
our  efforts  were  utterly  in  vain.  The  paroxysm  of  sor- 
row increased  instead  of  subsiding,  and  so  intolerable 
did  it  become,  that  she  could  endure  it  no  longer,  and 
left  the  room;  and,  at  length,  exhausted  by  effort, 
anxiety,  and  noise,  I  was  compelled  to  follow  her  ex- 
ample, leaving  my  unfortunate  pupils  in  one  dense 
mass,  crying,  yelling,  and  kicking  against  the  door ! 

*  I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  my  feelings ;  but, 
ruminating  on  what  I  then  considered  egregious  folly 
in  supposing  that  any  two  persons  could  manage  so 
large  a  number  of  infants,  I  was  struck  by  the  sight 
of  a  cap  of  my  wife's,  adorned  with  colored  ribbon, 
lying  on  the  table ;  and  observing  from  the  window  a 
clothes-prop,  it  occurred  that  I  might  put  the  cap 
upon  it,  return  to  the  school,  and  try  the  effect.  The 
confusion  when  I  entered  was  tremendous;  but  on 
raising  the  pole  surmounted  by  the  cap,  all  the  chil- 
dren, to  my  great  satisfaction,  were  instantly  silent ; 
and  when  any  hapless  wight  seemed  disposed  to  re- 
new the  noise,  a  few  shakes  of  the  prop  restored 
tranquillity,  and,  perhaps,  produced  a  laugh.  The 
same  thing,  however,  will  not  do  long ;  the  charms 
o(  this  wonderful  instrument  therefore  soon  vanished, 
and  there  would  have  been  a  sad  relapse  but  for  the 
marchings,  gambols,  and  antics,  I  found  it  necessary 
to  adopt,  and  which,  at  last,  brought  the  hour  of 
twelve,  to  my  greater  joy  than  can  easily  be  con- 
ceived.   Revolving  these  circumstances,  I  felt  that 


236  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Sensible  remarks  by  a  lady.  The  Bible  is  the  great  text-book. 

that  memorable  morning  had  not  passed  in  vain.  I 
had,  in  fact,  found  the  clew.  It  was  now  evident 
that  the  senses  of  the  children  must  be  engaged ; 
that  the  great  secret  of  training  them  was  to  descend 
to  their  level  and  become  a  child; — and  that  the 
error  had  been  to  expect  in  infancy  what  is  only  the 
product  of  after  years.' 

The  following  remarks  of  a  lady  who  speaks  from 
experience,  are  exceedingly  judicious.  '  I  have  been 
averse  to  teaching  these  young  children  astronomy, 
or  geography,  or  botany,  and  especially  mathematics, 
partly  because  it  obscures  their  tender  minds  with 
things  too  high  for  them,  and  partly  because  it  re- 
quires too  great  a  number  of  cards,  and  too  extensive 
apparatus.  But  with  the  Bible  in  my  hand,  I  would, 
from  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  direct  their  atten- 
tion to  the  formation  and  character  of  plants,  the 
creation  and  use  of  the  heavenly  bodies ;  and  forming 
a  meridian  at  the  garden  of  Eden,  I  would  begin  to 
lead  their  young  minds  to  trace  the  successive  spread 
of  mankind  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  thus, 
without  any  conscientious  scruples  about  making  my 
little  pupils  too  learned,  I  would  "  in  process  of  time" 
lead  them  over  the  whole  known  world  and  gather 
every  astronomical,  geographical,  and  botanical  and 
scientific  hint,  which  is  found  in  the  Scriptures,  ac- 
companied with  every  hallowed  improvement  which 
it  sanctions,  and  upon  which  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
promised   as   an   instructor.      There    are    sufficient 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  237 

Early  instruction  should  be  unmixed.  Examples  of  Bible  instruction. 

materials  in  the  Bible  to  be  a  means  of  laying 
the  foundation  in  the  infant  mind  of  all  that  know- 
ledge of  the  works  of  God,  which,  with  proper  di- 
rection, may  lead  to  that  knowledge  which  is  life 
eternal.  Oh !  how  little  sensible  we  are  how  un- 
mixed our  first  instruction  should  be !  He  who  has 
said,  "  My  word  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but 
shall  accomplish  that  for  which  I  sent  it,"  will  never 
let  any  right  use  of  it  fail  of  a  blessing.  The  minds 
of  children  will  receive  and  return  instruction  through 
this  medium  with  such  effect  as  will  frequently  make 
both  teacher  and  scholar  "  bow  their  heads  and  wor- 
ship." Thus  instructed,  these  pupils,  with  a  pebble 
out  of  the  clear  stream  of  truth,  might,  in  after  life, 
pierce  the  armour  of  those  giants  of  error  who  defy 
the  church  of  the  living  God,  and  for  whom  the 
Christian  watchmen  are  now  so  laboriously  arming 
themselves  to  meet  these  great  antagonists. 

*  I  would  make  the  inimitable  politeness  of  Abra- 
ham, when  he  purchased  the  possession  of  a  burying- 
place  of  the  children  of  Heth,  a  specimen  of  what 
religion  can  do  in  polishing  the  manners,  as  well  as 
improving  the  heart  From  the  Bible  we  learn  just 
enough  refinement  of  manners  as,  on  the  one  hand, 
raises  us  above  roughness  and  incivility,  and  makes 
us,  on  the  other,  a  reproof  to  the  fastidiousness  and 
insincerity  of  high  life ;  and  I  should  expect  far  more 
success  in  endeavoring  to  raise  human  nature  from 
its  native  miserableness,  than  in  endeavoring  to  de- 


238  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Teacher  to  cultivate  gentleness. 

liver  it  from  the  pollutions  into  which  polished  society, 
commonly  so  called,  had  entangled  it.  It  is  the  hap- 
py medium  in  every  thing  which  the  Bible  portrays 
as  the  path  of  perfection ;  and  Agur's  prayer  contains 
far  more,  I  am  persuaded,  than  we  shall  ever  in  this 
world  probably  learn  from  it.  It  is  a  part  of  the  two- 
edged  sword  of  truth.' 

Whether  more  or  less  use  is  made  of  cards  and 
pictures,  and  things  of  that  kind,  it  must  never  be 
forgotten,  that  it  is  the  heart  with  which  you  are  to 
make  the  deepest,  and  the  most  valuable  impressions. 
The  eye  may  aid  you,  but  after  all,  it  is  the  tones  of 
voice,  sweet,  clear,  patient,  upon  which  success 
chiefly  depends. 

2.  Let  the  teacher  cultivate  gentleness  in  himself. 

While  the  teacher  must  aim  to  exert  a  powerful 
influence  over  the  children,  and  the  most  important 
too,  which  they  will  ever  feel,  let  him  remember  that 
he  must  do  this, — he  can  do  this,  only  by  being  gen- 
tle. You  wish  to  mould  the  temper  to  gentleness,  to 
patience  and  forbearance.  The  passions  are  to  be 
repressed  and  disciplined,  the  affections,  the  sympa- 
thy, and  the  tenderness  of  the  soul  are  to  be  drawn 
forth.  You  neither  wish  nor  expect  to  take  these 
children  and  subdue  them  by  the  rod ;  you  expect  to 
be  able  only  to  lead  them.  Your  own  temper  and 
feelings  must,  then,  be  under  absolute  command,  and 
the  child  must  never  feel  that  his  teacher  has  forgot- 
ten to  be  gentle.     Let  me  quote  you  a  passage  from 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  239 

Example  of  Henry  Martjm.  Singing  necessary. 

the  beautiful  pen  of  Henry  Martyn.  "  I  walked," 
says  he,  "  into  the  village  where  the  boat  stopped  for 
the  night,  and  found  the  worshippers  of  Cali  by  the 
sound  of  their  drums  and  cymbals.  I  did  not  speak 
to  them,  on  account  of  their  being  Bengalees.  But 
being  invited  to  walk  in  by  the  Brahmins,  I  walked 
within  the  railing,  and  asked  a  few  questions  about 
the  idol.  The  Brahmin,  who  spoke  bad  Hindostanee, 
disputed  with  great  heat,  and  his  tongue  ran  faster 
than  I  could  follow,  and  the  people,  who  were  about 
one  hundred,  shouted  applause.  But  I  continued  to 
ask  my  questions  without  making  any  remarks  upon 
the  answers.  I  asked,  among  other  things,  whether 
what  I  had  heard  of  Vishnu  and  Brahma  were  true, 
which  they  confessed.  I  forbore  to  press  him  with 
the  consequences,  which  he  seemed  to  feel,  and  so  I 
told  him  what  was  my  belief.  The  man  grew  quite 
mild  and  said  it  was  chula  bat,  (good  words,)  and 
asked  me  seriously  at  last,  what  I  thought — was  idol- 
worship  true  or  false  1  I  felt  it  a  matter  of  thank- 
fulness that  I  could  make  known  the  truth  of 
God,  though  but  a  stammerer,  and  that  I  had  de- 
clared it  in  the  presence  of  a  devil.  And  this  I  also 
learned,  that  the  power  of  gentleness  is  irresistible." 
It  is  very  desirable,  if  not  essential  to  the  success 
of  an  Infant  Sabbath  School,  that  there  be  singing. 
It  gives  variety,  soothes  the  feelings,  cheers  the  mind, 
awakens  the  attention,  and  adds  cheerfulness  to  the 
whole  business.     The  teacher  should  be  able  to  lead 


240       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Example  of  a  good  school.  Not  too  much  confinement. 

the  singing  himself,  if  practicable.  If  not,  some  one 
should  be  associated  with  him  who  can.  I  may  add 
here,  that  not  unfrequently,  if  not  generally,  a  lady 
will  manage  an  infant  class  better  than  a  gentleman. 
She  has  more  patience,  can  descend  to  the  minutiae 
better,  has  more  elasticity  and  versatility,  more  soft- 
ness and  kindness  in  look,  voice,  and  manner,  and 
can  work  through  difficulties  with  ease,  in  cases 
where  he  would  either  stand  still,  or  burst  through  at 
any  cost.  One  of  the  most  interesting  Infant  schools 
within  my  knowledge  is  taught  by  the  young  wife 
of  a  clergyman  in  New  England.  She  spends  the 
whole  of  the  Sabbath  afternoon  with  her  little  charge. 
The  school  contains  about  one  hundred  and  twenty ; 
and  I  doubt  not  she  is  doing  more  for  the  good  of  the 
human  race  than  many  who  wear  plumed  hats  on 
their  heads  and  swords  by  their  sides. 

It  is  important  to  remember  that  at  first,  and  for 
a  long  time,  there  should  be  no  one  present  except 
the  teacher  and  the  little  pupils.  It  is  impossible  for 
a  teacher  to  do  justice  to  the  school,  if  a  single  adult 
individual  be  present.  I  would  by  all  means  insist  on 
this.  As  a  general  rule,  children  ought  to  be  sepa- 
rated and  by  themselves  as  much  as  possible  while 
receiving  instruction. 

You  will  need  to  be  careful  that  your  school  is  not 
like  a  prison.  Little  children  must  have  motion  fre- 
quently ;  nature  requires  it,  and  you  must  follow  the 
leadings  of  nature.     At  the  same  time  do  not  cherish 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  241 

Deep  and  ardent  piety  necessary.  Instruction  difficult. 

constant  restlessness, — as  if  the  great  object  of  the 
school  was  to  keep  the  children  in  some  kind  of 
motion. 

3.  Let  the  teacher  remember  that  he  must  cultivate 
deep  and  ardent  piety,  if  he  would  be  successful. 

The  romance  of  an  Infant  School  will  be  soon 
worn  off  It  cannot  be  made  a  play-thing ;  it  cannot 
be  an  exhibition.  It  is  not  to  be  the  wonder  of 
visiters,  or  the  astonishment  of  parents.  It  is  not  to 
be  made  a  mere  reciting,  or  repeating  machine. 
Nothing  of  this  will  regenerate  the  soul,  or  train  it 
up  for  the  trials  of  earth  or  the  glories  of  heaven. 
It  must  be  the  gate  of  heaven ;  and  the  aims  of  the 
teacher  must  be  pure,  holy,  lowly,  and  yet  lofty.  He 
cannot  meet  the  trials,  the  vexations  and  the  troubles 
of  his  station  without  piety, — deep  piety.  If  there 
be  a  station  of  earth  which  requires  the  heart  to  be 
warmed  and  cheered  and  sustained  by  love  to  Jesus 
Christ,  it  is  this.  Redeeming  love  must  be  the  theme 
on  which  the  soul  never  tires.  He  must  be  a  man 
of  prayer.  No  one  can  fill  the  station  without  help 
drawn  from  the  everlasting  hills.  Prayer  must  be 
the  morning  offering,  and  prayer  the  incense  of  the 
evening  oblation, — and  prayer  must  carry  on  the 
work.  Oh !  if  you  feel  desirous  of  teaching  a  class 
of  infants  in  the  Sabbath  School,  and  are  not  guided 
to  the  work  by  much  prayer,  I  do  hope  you  will 
weigh  the  subject  well  before  you  go  any  further. 
No  part  of  the  Sabbath  School  is  so  difficult  to  in- 
21 


242  the:  sabbath  school  teacher. 


Importance  of  it  to  the  church. 


struct  and  manage  as  this  ;  and  no  part  is  more  inte- 
resting, more  important,  or  will  receive  more  good 
from  right  instruction,  than  this.  It  is  a  little  foun- 
tain, but  from  it  several  little  rills  flow,  small  indeed 
now,  but  one  which  will  swell  and  grow  till  each  be- 
comes a  mighty  river. 

There  may  be  an  infant  class  or  an  infant  school 
in  connexion  with  every  Sabbath  School  in  the  land. 
It  ought  to  be  so ;  and  why  is  it  not  so  1  Is  it  not 
because  we  have  considered  these  little  ones  too 
young  I  But  may  not  this  impression  be  a  mere  pre- 
judice ?  Some  thirty  years  ago  our  churches  thought 
that  every  one  must  serve  the  devil  till  at  least 
twenty  years  old ;  and  the  consequence  was,  that  it 
was  a  very  rare  sight  to  see  young  men  and  ladies 
under  twenty  entering  the  church  with  the  purpose 
of  living  for  God.  Few  young  people  then  professed 
to  serve  God.  Was  this  not  a  very  great  mistake  ? 
And  shall  our  churches  let  Satan  still  have  the  very 
best  part  of  life  with  which  to  take  possession  of  the 
soul  1  No,  they  must  not  do  it.  Let  every  minister 
and  every  officer  in  our  churches,  and  every  Super- 
intendent at  once  take  up  the  subject,  and  resolve 
that  there  shall  be  such  a  class  or  classes  connected 
with  every  Sabbath  School  in  the  land.  Then  shall 
we  have  begun  at  the  right  period  of  life,  to  sow  the 
seed ;  and  then  will  our  blessed  Redeemer  gather  to 
himself  a  glorious  harvest, — for  the  garners  of  im- 
mortality, 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


SINGING  IN  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL. 

The  soul  seems  formed  for  music.  The  savage 
cannot  be  found  so  barbarous  as  not  to  have  some 
way  by  which  to  create  musical  sounds;  and  the 
savage  who,  for  the  first  time,  hears  the  notes  of  a 
well-regulated  band,  will  crouch  down  upon  the 
ground,  entranced  by  notes  so  far  exceeding  any 
thing  of  which  he  has  ever  before  conceived.  The 
band  in  passing  through  the  street  will  draw  every 
family  to  the  window  ;  the  flute  whose  soft  notes  float 
over  the  still  waters  on  the  summer's  evening,  will 
cause  the  Indian  to  lift  the  paddle  from  the  water, 
and  let  bis  canoe  drift  noiselessly  down  the  stream. 
And  the  proudest  monarch  on  earth  will  kneel  and 
weep  during  some  of  the  strains  of  the  mighty  organ, 
and  the  choir  as  they  sing  the  Messiah. 

War  has  pressed  music  into  his  service,  and  made 
the  heart  leap  even  upon  the  field  of  death,  by  the 
notes  of  the  bugle,  the  trumpet  and  the  clarion.  The 

243 


244       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  love  of  music  universal.     Music  used  in  war.     Music  used  by  pleasure. 

horse  and  his  rider  both  feel  its  power,  and  by  it 
rush  into  the  ranks  of  death.  The  charge  is  made, 
and  man  is  brought  breast  to  breast,  under  the  united 
influence  of  music  and  the  war-shout.  What  notes, 
deep,  awful,  and  spirit-stirring,  were  those  which 
rose  over  the  field  of  Waterloo,  as  Death  rode 
through  the  ranks,  on  his  pale  horse  1  The  roar  of 
cannon,  the  groans  of  death,  and  the  murderous 
shout  of  battle  are  all  softened  down  by  music. 

Pleasure  has  made  music  her  waiting-maid.  The 
ball,  the  dance,  the  theatre,  would  all  expire,  were 
it  not  that  music  gives  her  constant  presence,  and 
pleads  with  a  voice  so  sweet,  that  the  world  cannot 
resist  it.  Any  price  will  be  paid  for  music,  if  it  shall 
have  the  quality  of  being  exquisite.  The  man  is 
now  living  who  annually  receives  more  for  the  music 
which  he  creates  on  his  violin,  than  would  support 
eighty  of  our  ordained  missionaries.  A  lady  who  has 
earned  great  fame  in  the  theatres  in  Europe  as  a 
singer,  has  been  offered,  if  she  would  come  to  this 
country  at  least  an  equal  sum.  She  declined  the 
offer,  and  probably  no  sufficient  inducements  will  be 
offered  to  cause  her  to  come,  and  consequently  the 
music  of  her  voice  will  never  be  heard  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic.  I  mention  these  facts, — not  to  find 
fault,  for  that  is  useless,  but  to  show  the  strong  love 
which  we  all  have  for  music. 

Almost  every  nation,  perhaps  all  nations,  have  nation- 
al airs,  by  which  the  love  of  country  is  deepened,  and 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  245 

National  aire.   Music  used  by  religion  anciently.    Music  the  parent  of  poetry. 

a  national  feeling  is  created  and  maintained.  The 
popular  air,  "  Yankee-doodle,"  will  probably  create  an 
American  feeling  as  long  as  our  nation  exists ;  and 
the  airs, "  God  save  the  king,"  and  "  Rule  Britannia," 
will  never  cease  to  call  the  heart  of  the  Briton  to  his 
own  glorious  Isle.  The  soldier  from  Switzerland,  and 
from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  will  weep  at  the 
national  airs  which  call  their  hearts  home  to  the 
place  of  their  birth  and  childhood. 

It  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise,  then,  that  from  the 
fall  of  man  to  the  present  hour,  as  we  have  reason 
to  believe,  religion  has  made  great  use  of  music  to 
aid  her  disciples.  It  was  early  taught  in  the  schools 
of  the  Prophets,  and  from  them  went  out  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  of  God's  people. 
Not  only  so,  but  God  made  special  provision  for  its 
use,  in  giving  to  his  church  those  inspired  songs  which 
bear  the  name  of  David,  and  which  will  be  sung  as 
long  as  the  church  exists  on  earth.  From  the  days 
of  David  down  to  the  third  century  of  the  Christian 
era,  music  was  exceedingly  simple,  touching,  and 
effective.  It  was  the  music  of  nature,  so  to  speak, 
and  consisted  in  little  else  than  a  refined  delivery, 
superadded  to  sacred  poetry.  Music,  in  the  most 
ancient  ages  of  the  world,  was  the  parent  of  poetry. 
Deborah  wrote  her  wonderfully  sublime  song,  that  it 
might  be  sung  and  committed  to  memory  by  the 
army  of  Barak.  The  great  poem  of  Homer,  it  is 
said,  is  the  daughter  of  music, — a  composition  which 
21* 


246  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Homer's  influence.  Provision  of  Providence  for  music. 

has  had  more  influence  upon  the  character  of  the 
earth,  probably,  than  any  other  book  in  existence, 
except  the  Bible.  '  From  Homer,'  says  Pope,  *  the 
poets  drew  their  inspiration,  the  critics  their  rules, 
and  the  philosophers  a  defence  of  their  opinions; 
every  author  was  found  to  use  his  name,  and  every 
profession  writ  books  upon  him,  till  they  swelled  to 
libraries.  The  warriors  formed  themselves  upon  his 
heroes,  and  the  oracles  delivered  his  verses  for  an 
swer.' 

God  has  not  only  created  the  ear  to  delight  in  the 
melody  of  sweet  sounds,  but  has  created  a  most 
wonderful  musical  instrument  for  the  use  of  every 
one.  Between  the  top  of  the  throat  and  the  root  of 
the  tongue,  he  has  made  an  enlargement, — a  cavity 
of  two  or  three  inches,  and  most  wonderfully  lined  it 
with  delicate  membranes,  *  so  stretched  that  the  air 
passing  through  them  makes  a  sound  as  through  the 
reed  of  a  clarionet.  This  would  be  a  curious  instru- 
ment, even  if  it  admitted  of  no  variation  of  sound ; 
but  it  is  furnished  with  five  cartilages,  which  contract 
and  expand  the  cavity  at  pleasure  in  different  ways, 
so  as  to  give  different  vibrations,  and  of  course,  dif- 
ferent tones.  In  this  small  space,  then,  in  the  throat 
of  every  human  being,  is  an  instrument  with  a  compass 
of  from  two  to  three  octaves,  which  has  the  command 
of  every  semi-tone,  and  subdivision  of  note,  swell, 
trill,  &c;  and  not  necessarily  exposed  to  the  imper- 
fections of  artificial  instruments,  but  so  clear,  so  rich, 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  247 


Singing  ought  to  be  cultivated  in  schools.        A  wrong  inflicted  if  omitted. 


so  sweet,  when  well  used,  as  to  be  the  highest  stand- 
ard of  comparison, — in  these  points,  for  the  flute, 
clarionet,  piano,  and  organ.' 

Now  let  any  one  consider  this  wonderful  provision, 
prepared  and  at  hand  every  where,  created  by  God 
himself, — let  him  remember  that  the  soul  is  so  de- 
lighted with  music,  that  the  highest  and  sweetest 
emblem  by  which  inspiration  could  describe  heaven, 
is  that  of  the  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  an- 
gels and  men,  joined  in  one  mighty  choir,  before  the 
throne  of  God,  and  all  unitedly  praising  him  forever 
and  ever, — and  then  say  if  singing  ought  not  to  have 
a  prominent  place  in  all  systems  of  education? 
Especially,  ought  it  not  to  have  a  very  prominent 
place  in  the  very  nursery  of  the  church — the  Sab- 
bath School  'i  I  cannot  but  feel  that  we  are  very 
far  behind  the  proper  standard  on  this  subject ;  and 
1  plead  in  behalf  of  every  child,  with  the  earnestness 
of  one  who  was  himself  neglected  in  childhood  in 
this  particular,  and  who  has  in  consequence  suffered 
a  loss  of  enjoyment  which  no  language  can  describe. 
By  such  neglect  we  inflict  a  wrong  upon  the  children, 
which  is  not  the  less  real  or  cruel,  that  they  do  not 
now  feel  and  mourn  over  it. 

Till  within  a  short  time,  it  has  been  an  opinion  al- 
most universal,  that  but  a  few  could  be  taught  to 
sing ;  that  the  talent  for  music  was  a  peculiar  gift 
of  nature,  entrusted  to  a  favored  few.  Parents  have 
decided, — unless,  indeed,  their  child  learned  to  sing 


248       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Talent  not  confined  to  a  few.        All  can  sing,— first  proof.        Second  proof. 

almost  by  inspiration,  that  their  children  had  no  taste 
for  music.  The  opinion  has  become  so  prevalent 
that  but  a  very  small  part  of  our  congregations  even 
pretend  to  sing,  or  suppose  themselves  capable.  Nor 
are  they  capable,  at  the  present  time  and  under  the 
present  circumstances;  but  would  it  have  been  so, 
had  proper  pains  been  taken  when  they  were  chil- 
dren ?  How  much  pains  do  parents  take  to  teach  a 
child  to  speak  correctly  I  Had  children  the  oppor- 
tunity of  hearing  speaking,  and  of  being  taught  to 
speak  only  as  they  have  opportunity  to  learn  to  sing, 
would  any  more  be  able  to  talk,  than  are  able  now 
to  sing  1  I  shall  not  contend  that  every  child  who 
can  be  taught  to  speak,  might  be  taught  to  sing ;  but 
I  believe  the  exceptions  would  be  very  rare.  Allow 
me  to  state  a  few  plain  facts. 

1.  In  an  Orphan  Asylum  in  Germany  containing 
two  hundred  children,  there  are  only  two  certainly, 
who  have  not  learned  to  sing,  and  that  too,  correctly. 
These  children,  of  course,  are  taken  early,  and  pro- 
bably considerable  pains  are  taken  with  them ;  be 
this  so  or  not,  the  fact  is  one  of  great  weight  in  de- 
ciding such  a  question. 

2.  In  all  the  common  district  schools  in  Germany, 
singing  and  music  are  taught,  and  every  child  is  as 
much  expected  to  read  and  write,  and  perform  music, 
as  to  read,  write,  and  recite  any  other  lesson.  It  is 
not  pretended,  indeed,  that  these  are  all  first-rate 
singers,  or  that  they  go  deeply  into  the  science  of 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  249 


Third  proof.  Fourth  proof.  Firth  proof. 

music ;  but  that  they  go  far  enough  to  be  respectable 
performers  in  sacred  music. 

3.  When  a  gentleman  wishes  to  have  his  daughter 
taught  music  on  the  piano,  the  question,  in  these 
days,  is  not  asked,  '  has  the  child  an  ear  for  music, — 
can  she  ever  learn  music  V — but  the  question  is,  can 
he  afford  the  expense  of  the  instrument  and  of  the 
tuition ;  if  he  can  do  that,  every  music-teacher  will 
engage  to  take  care  of  the  rest,  and  to  create  a  taste, 
sufficient,  at  least,  to  make  her  a  performer  who  shall 
be  the  pride  of  her  parents.  This  could  not  be  done, 
if  it  were  true,  that  the  power  of  being  a  musician 
must  always  be  innate. 

4.  The  Puritans  of  New-England,  almost  without 
exception,  were  accustomed  to  have  singing  at  their 
family  devotions,  in  which  all  the  members  of  the 
family  soon  learned  to  take  a  part.  This  was  so  of 
the  Scotch  covenanters.  They  were  denominated  a 
1  Psalm-singing  generation'  in  part,  because  all,  old 
and  young,  were  accustomed  to  sing. 

5.  It  has  been  found  by  the  Professors  of  music  ot 
the  present  day,  who  have  made  extensive  trials,  that 
they  can  go  into  a  common  school,  and  take  the  chil- 
dren as  they  rise,  and  teach  them  all  to  sing.  There 
are,  indeed,  rare  cases  of  organic  defect,  just  as  there 
arc  cases  in  which  the  eye  has  been  known  to  mis- 
take red  for  green, — in  which  singing  cannot  be 
taught  But  these  are  exceptions;  but  were  the 
season  of  childhood  faithfully  improved,  few  would  be 


250  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Interesting  account  by  Wesley  of  Sabbath  School  singing. 

pronounced  as  unfit  to  join  in  the  songs  of  Zion.  The 
right  habits,  however,  must  be  formed  at  the  right 
time,  which  is  childhood.  Few  children  fail  of  being 
able  to  sing,  whose  parents  are  singers,  and  who,  as 
a  consequence,  hear  singing  from  their  very  infancy. 
In  cases  in  which  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  teach 
a  school  to  sing,  and  it  has  failed,  I  would  suggest 
whether  it  has  not  been  in  consequence  of  not  having 
it  very  simple.  You  may  teach  a  child  any  thing, 
even  mathematics ;  but  you  must  begin  with  what  is 
very  simple.  The  Methodists  'seldom  fail  to  get  all 
their  children  to  sing  their  simple  music.  The  follow- 
ing is  from  the  pen  of  Wesley.  "  About  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  Lord's  day,  April  20,  1788,  I 
met  between  nine  hundred  and  a  thousand  of  the 
children  belonging  to  our  Sunday  Schools  in  Bolton. 
I  never  saw  such  a  sight  before.  They  were  all  ex- 
actly clean,  as  well  as  plain  in  their  apparel.  All 
were  serious  and  well-behaved ;  many,  both  boys  and 
girls,  had  as  beautiful  faces  as,  I  believe,  England  or 
Europe  can  afford.  When  they  all  sung  together,  and 
none  of  them  out  of  tune,  the  melody  was  beyond 
that  of  any  theatre.  And  what  is  best  of  all,  many 
of  them  truly  fear  God,  and  some  rejoice  in  his  sal- 
vation. These  arc  a  pattern  to  all  the  town.  And 
this  I  must  avow,  there  is  not  such  a  set  of  singers  in 
any  of  the  Methodist  congregations  in  the  three  king- 
doms as  in  this  town.  There  cannot  be ;  for  we  have 
near  a  hundred  such  trebles,  boys  and  girls,  selected 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  251 

Two  points  to  be  insisted  on.      What  Hymns  shall  lie  used  in  those  schools 

out  of  our  Sunday  Schools,  and  accurately  taught,  as 
are  not  to  be  found  together  in  any  chapel,  cathedral, 
or  music  room,  within  the  four  seas.  Besides  the 
spirit  with  which  they  sing,  and  the  beauty  of  many 
of  them  so  suits  the  melody,  that  I  defy  any  to  exceed 
it,  except  the  singing  of  angels  in  our  father's  house." 
There  are  two  points  to  be  insisted  on  in  teaching 
children  in  the  Sabbath  School  to  sing :  viz. — that 
the  votoels  are  to  be  pronounced  clearly  and  distinctly, 
just  as  we  pronounce  them  in  speaking.  If  this  be 
overlooked,  and  the  vowels  and  consonants  be  run 
into  each  other,  it  will  be  singing  in  an  unknown 
tongue.  Great  pains  should  be  taken  to  have  the 
enunciation  clear  and  distinct.  The  other  point  is,  to 
have  them  taught  to  place  the  emphasis  right,  so  as 
to  have  the  music  correspond  with  the  words.  What 
is  the  object  of  singing,  except  to  give  the  words  more 
power  and  interest  ?  How  can  this  object  be  accom- 
plished, except  by  attention  to  the  emphasis  ?  This 
suggests  another  inquiry  ;  viz :  what  hymns  shall  be 
used  in  our  Sabbath  Schools?  I  shall  speak  with 
diffidence  on  this  point,  because  there  is  a  great  diver- 
sity of  opinion  and  practice,  and  because  I  am  not 
perfectly  satisfied  that  any  of  them  are  right.  In  very 
many  schools,  perhaps  the  majority  in  the  land, 
Hymns  are  used,  selected  and  arranged  on  purpose 
for  Sabbath  Schools,  such  as  the  Union  Hymns  and 
the  like.  The  great  advantage  is  thought  to  be,  that 
in   such  a  selection  you  can  have  a  great  variety 


252       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Description.  Does  the  school  need  a  very  great  variety  of  hymns? 


from  which  to  select,  and,  that  they  are  altered  and 
rendered  simple,  and  thus  adapted  to  childhood.  It 
is  true,  these  two  objects  are  gained ;  but  I  am  not 
certain  that  it  is  not  at  too  great  an  expense.  By 
taking  the  prepared  selection,  you  have  variety, — a 
great  variety ;  but,  do  you  not  wish  to  have  the  child 
begin  to  sing  the  hymns,  and  from  the  book,  which  is 
used  in  the  church,  and  from  which  he  is  to  sing  all  his 
life,  and  thus  have  his  earliest  associations  connected 
and  linked  in  with  what  he  will  use  in  the  house  of 
God  ?  Can  any  hymn-book, — ought  any  hymn-book 
to  be  so  dear  to  the  associations  and  the  heart,  as 
that  which  is  used  in  the  house  of  God  on  the  Sab- 
bath ?  And  then,  as  to  the  simplicity  of  the  selected 
hymns, — I  am  aware  of  all  that  may  be  said  in  their 
favor ;  but  let  me  ask,  if  their  simplicity  is  not  prin- 
cipally effected  by  altering  the  most  beautiful  hymns 
in  the  English  language, — such  hymns  as  we  have  in 
all  our  churches  on  the  Sabbath  1  The  child,  in  the 
Sabbath  School,  sings  a  hymn,  say  the  Coronation 
hymn,  "  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name,"  as  he 
finds  it  in  the  hymn-book  prepared  for  the  School : 
he  goes  to  his  father's  pew,  and  hears  the  same  hymn 
sung  just  as  the  author  wrote  it,  without  any  altera- 
tion,— which  is  he  to  love,  and  with  which  is  he  to 
have  the  sweetest  recollections  of  life  associated  1 
to  my  own  mind  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  but  the 
warmest,  deepest,  tenderest  associations  of  his  heart 
should  be  associated  with  his  worship  in  his  father's 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  253 

Three  hints. 

pew.  Let  any  one,  who  has  grown  up  in  the  use  of 
a  hymn  as  it  stands  in  our  church  singing-book,  and 
one  which  he  has  sung  all  his  life  as  it  reads  there,  go 
into  the  Sabbath  School  and  take  up  the  same  hymn 
altered,  and  see  if  he  can  take  any  enjoyment  in 
reading  it.  I  would  with  diffidence  ask,  too,  if  we 
are  not  under  a  mistake  in  supposing  that  a  Sabbath 
School  needs  a  very  great  variety  and  number  of 
hymns  ?  How  is  it  with  the  Christian, — is  he  ever 
tired  of  singing,  "  Come  holy  Spirit,  heavenly  Dove"  1 
— or  its  sister  song,  "  Oh  !  for  a  closer  walk  with 
God"  ?  Do  we  not  prefer  in  our  sweetest  meetings 
to  sing  over  the  songs  which  we  know,  the  tunes 
which  we  know,  because  they  recal  other  and  dearer 
times,  and  are  also  pleasant  now  1  In  teaching  chil- 
dren to  sing  in  the  Sabbath  School,  then,  I  would 
offer  the  following  hints ;  viz. — 

1.  To  use  the  words  of  a  hymn  as  it  reads  in  the 
book  used  in  the  church,  and  which  they  will  proba- 
bly use  through  life. 

2.  To  have  the  selection  of  hymns  very  limited,  so 
that  the  whole  school  may  soon  learn  them,  and 
have  them  at  their  command. 

3.  To  be  careful  always  to  have  the  same  tune  and 
the  same  words  used  together.  There  are  great  ad- 
vantages in  this.  Children  can  learn  only  by  repeti- 
tion, and  tunes  and  words  thus  connected,  always 
bring  pleasurable  associations  to  the  mind. 

There  are. two  methods  of  teaching   a  Sabbath 
22 


254  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Two  methods  of  teaching  music.        Shall  the  Sabbath  School  be  divided  ? 

School  to  sing;  the  one  is,  by  introducing  the  black- 
board and  instructing  the  children  as  you  would  a  class 
of  adults  by  teaching  them  the  notes.  It  seems  to  me 
that  this  is  objectionable  in  that  it  takes  much  time, 
it  seems  to  turn  the  school  aside  from  the  appropriate 
business  of  instruction,  and  it  takes  holy  time  for 
what  ought  to  be  learned  during  the  week.  I  would, 
therefore,  prefer  to  have  the  school  taught  to  sing  by 
the  ear  on  the  Sabbath,  a  few  simple  easy  tunes, 
and  to  have  provision  made  to  have  them  regularly 
and  thoroughly  taught  on  some  other  day,  to  sing  by 
note. 

If  the  reader  shall  feel  that  the  above  remarks 
are  not  very  profound,  he  may  be  assured  that  they 
are  offered  with  diffidence,  and  are  thrown  out  more 
as  hints  upon  a  difficult  subject,  than  as  a  guide. 
They  claim  nothing  beyond  what  the  common  sense 
of  each  teacher  would  suggest. 

The  question  of  singing  brings  up  another  subject 
intimately  related  to  it,  and  one  not  so  easy  to  dispose 
of  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  I  mean  the  question, 
shall  the  Sabbath  School  be  divided,  the  males  and 
females  separated,  and  each  sex  be  under  its  own  Su- 
perintendent 1  It  has  been  rather  a  growing  fashion 
of  late  years,  to  have  two  distinct  branches,  in  dif- 
ferent rooms,  and  under  two  different  heads.  The 
great  advantages  of  the  plan  seem  to  be,  that  the 
girls  are  taken  away  from  the  corrupting  example  of 
the  boys, — that  the  two  branches  are  both   more 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  255 

Advantages  of  separating  sexes.     Disadvantages,— first  and  second  reasons. 

quiet,  orderly,  more  carefully  watched,  and  more 
faithfully  instructed.  I  am  not  sure  that  I  shall  be 
altogether  popular  in  what  I  am  going  to  say ;  but 
those  who  disagree  with  me,  will  have  good  sense 
enough  not  to  feel  my  arguments,  unless  they  have 
weight.  There  will  always  be  exceptions  to  general 
rules,  and  there  will  undoubtedly  be  exceptions  to 
this ;  but  as  a  general  thing,  I  should  prefer  to  have 
the  school  altogether  in  one  room,  and  under  one 
Superintendent  I  will  offer  my  reasons  as  briefly 
as  possible. 

1.  In  all  the  general  features  of  Sabbath  Schools, 
throughout  the  land,  we  had  better  have  them  alike, 
as  far  as  possible,  as  simple  as  possible,  and  as  con- 
venient as  possible.  It  would  be  next  to  impossible 
to  have  this  feature  become  general.  But  few 
churches  have  more  than  one  place,  or  can  provide 
more  than  one,  and  I  should  be  unwilling  to  have  the 
impression  go  abroad,  that  a  Sabbath  School  may 
not  be  perfect  with  but  one  room. 

2.  It  seems  to  be  the  design  of  Providence  that  the 
sexes  shall  modify  and  benefit  each  other,  even  from 
infancy.  Those  families  present  the  most  delightful 
picture,  in  which  the  children  are  composed  of  both 
sexes.  If  they  are  all  boys,  they  are  rough,  noisy, 
and  need  something  to  smooth  down  their  roughness. 
If  they  are  all  girls,  they  need  the  buoyancy  and 
strength  of  character  which  they  acquire  from  asso- 
ciating with  their  more  stormy  brothers.     It  is  so  in 


256  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Third  reason.  Fourth  reason. 


the  Sabbath  School.  If  you  say  that  the  girls 
suffer  by  being  placed  in  the  same  room  with  the 
boys,  I  say  unhesitatingly  that  the  boys  suffer 
without  them.  They  will  not  be  so  spirited,  so  inte- 
rested, so  mild,  when  taught  by  themselves.  The 
girls  may  suffer  some  by  being  in  the  same  school 
with  the  males ;  but  the  boys  will  suffer  very  much 
where  this  is  not  the  case.  I  have  no  need  of  try- 
ing to  explain  the  philosophy  of  the  thing ;  but  every 
one  knows,  that  whatever  may  be  the  case  with  the 
female  sex,  our  sex  need  the  presence  of  females 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  and  there  is  no  period 
in  life,  in  the  formation  of  our  character  especially, 
when  we  ought  to  be  deprived  of  it. 

3.  By  being  all  in  the  same  room,  the  Superintend- 
ent, the  minister,  or  the  stranger,  can  address  them 
better.  He  will  do  it  with  more  interest,  more  ani- 
mation, and  more  feeling.  So  of  the  devotional  ex- 
ercises. Say  what  you  will  in  commendation  of  a 
lady's  powers, — say  that  she  is  better  qualified  to 
teach,  is  quicker,  more  interesting,  more  devoted  and 
holy, — it  is  all  true ; — but  after  all,  she  is  not  so  well 
qualified  to  talk  to  a  school,  to  make  addresses,  and 
to  lead  in  prayer,  as  is  the  man.  She  is  not,  because 
God  did  not  create  her  for  this  object. 

4.  If  the  argument  for  separating  the  schools  has 
weight,  it  must  rest  upon  the  supposition,  that  the 
habits  of  the  children,  their  education  at  home,  &c. 
have  been  such,  that  they  would  be  injured  by  being 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  257 

Fifth  reason.  Sixth  reason. 

together.  If  this  be  so,  such  a  school  will  need  to  be 
governed, — and  governed,  too,  with  no  weak  hand. 
In  such  a  case,  probably,  it  would  require,  to  say  the 
least,  as  much  of  government  in  each  department,  as 
in  both,  were  they  united ;  because,  a  school  com- 
posed of  both  sexes  is  vastly  more  easily  governed, 
than  the  same  number  of  either  sex,  by  themselves. 
Now  is  a  lady  ready  to  go  into  a  large  school, — too 
rude  to  be  associated  with  the  males, — and  govern 
it  as  it  ought  to  be  governed  ?  Can  she  do  it  without 
sacrificing  much  of  that  gentleness  and  mildness, 
which  woman  can  never  sacrifice  without  loss  ? 

5.  By  having  the  school  all  in  one,  the  Library  is 
much  more  accessible  to  all,  more  readily  managed, 
and  all  have  equal  opportunities  to  obtain  desirable 
books. 

6.  The  influence  upon  the  teachers  is  decidedly 
good,  when  the  schools  are  both  in  one.  They  study 
the  lesson  together,  they  feel  the  power  of  sympathy 
when  hearing  the  lessons,  there  is  more  animation, 
life,  and  interest  I  believe  this  will  be  found  to  be 
the  experience  of  all  who  have  long  been  engaged 
in  Sabbath  Schools.  But  in  seasons  of  revival,  when 
the  Spirit  of  God  is  present,  when  there  are  awaken- 
ings, and  conversions, — when  you  wish  to  act  upon 
the  whole,  to  use  the  principle  of  sympathy,  and  have 
the  scholars  act  upon  each  other,  it  is  of  vast  im- 
portance that  the  school  be  all  in  one  room,  under 

22* 


258  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Seventh  reason.  Account  of  a  school  in  England. 

one  head,  one  influence,  and  all   led  to  the    same 
place, — viz.,  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ. 

7.  It  is  desirable  to  have  the  schools  both  united 
in  one  for  the  sake  of  the  singing.  It  is  the  order  of 
nature  that  the  voices  of  males  and  females  be  united 
in  singing.  Neither  can  accomplish  the  ends  of  sing- 
ing alone.  Perhaps  it  may  be  said  that  the  schools 
might  be  brought  together  once  a  day,  at  the  close 
of  the  exercises,  and  thus  all  unite  in  singing.  I  re- 
ply, that  this  will  be  any  thing  rather  than  simple 
and  easy,  unless  they  are  so  located  that  folding 
doors  only  shall  separate  them,  which  will  not  be  the 
case  in  many  of  our  schools.  That  there  are  and 
must  be  disadvantages  in  both  methods,  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  If  there  are  more  dangers  connected  with 
having  all  the  school  in  one,  there  are  also  more  de- 
cided advantages.  These  remarks  apply  to  schools 
generally ;  but  there  is  nothing  essential  to  the  par- 
ticular mode  of  managing  them,  without  which  they 
cannot  succeed. 

An  old  gentleman  from  England  gives  me  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  a  school  which  he  raised  up  in 
that  country.  I  quote  it  not  more  for  the  last 
sentence,  than  the  whole  account.  "  I  commenced 
my  school  thirty  years  ago,  all  alone,  with  twelve 
children.  If  any  were  absent  or  late  three  succeed- 
ing Sabbaths  from  any  other  cause  than  sickness,  he 
was  dismissed  and  another  was  selected  from  the  nu 
merous  applicants,  to  take  his  place.  When  1  thought 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  259 


The  Sabbath  School  scholar. 


it  best,  I  raised  the  number  to  twenty-four,  and 
finally  to  sixty,  beyond  which  I  would  not  go.  As  a 
teacher  I  stood  alone  for  seven  years,  and  with  great 
opposition  against  the  school.  Eight  of  my  first 
twelve  soon  became  my  Bible-class.  They  were 
closely  attentive  during  all  their  examinations,  and 
they  became  teachers  of  their  respective  classes 
under  my  inspection  as  their  superintendent.  One 
of  these  eight  is  now  a  faithful  and  laborious  minister 
of  the  Gospel,  and  the  others  were  all  early  in  life 
members  of  the  church  with  which  I  was  connected. 
Many  of  these  sixty  I  have  seen  happy  on  their  sick 
and  dying  beds,  though  some  have  gone  on  hardened 
and  yet  miserable  in  their  iniquity.  I  once  reproved 
a  vain  young  man,  a  stranger  whom  I  met  in  a  pas- 
sage-boat, for  profaneness.  There  was  a  solemn 
silence  in  the  boat  for  ten  minutes.  Every  eye  was 
fixed  on  him,  noticing  the  mental  perturbation  which 
was  visible  through  his  countenance.  After  this  he 
said, «  Ah !  Sir,  if  I  had  followed  the  advice  which 
you  used  to  give  me  in  the  Sabbath  School,  I  should 
be  a  much  happier  man  than  I  now  am.'  After  in- 
forming me  who  he  was,  and  giving  me  his  history, 
he  added,  ■  And  there,  Sir,  (pointing  to  a  box,)  in  the 
bottom  of  that  box  under  a  napkin,  is  every  book 
which  you  ever  gave  me,  and  when  by  accident  I 
lift  up  the  cloth,  they  make  me  tremble.' 

**  I  have  a  few  times  in  my  life  given  a  musical 
lesson  as  an  encouragement  and  reward  to  the  chil- 


2t>0  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Results  of  experience.  Duty  of  teachers  who  cannot  sing. 

dren,  but  it  tends  to  dissipate  the  mind  from  the  more 
important  work  before  them,  and  I  do  not  think  that 
any  good  was  ever  produced  by  it.  Teaching  with- 
out notes  is  sufficient,  and  best  for  a  Sabbath  School." 

As  to  the  number  of  times  singing  shall  be  intro- 
duced into  the  school,  each  set  of  teachers  will  decide 
for  themselves.  If  the  Superintendent  can  conduct 
it,  he,  by  all  means,  should  do  it ;  if  he  cannot,  let 
him  be  careful  to  obtain  the  proper  man  to  do  it,  and 
in  every  practicable  way  assist  and  encourage  him. 

But  there  will  be  some  teachers  who  are  not  sing- 
ers,— who  cannot  aid  in  this  exercise;  what  shall 
they  do  1  How  can  they  be  expected  to  aid  in  pro- 
moting singing  1  I  ask  such  if  they  do  not  wish  they 
could  sing? — if  they  would  grudge  any  expense  if 
they  could,  by  it,  only  purchase  the  power  of  singing] 
Do  they  not  regret  that  no  one  taught  them  during 
their  childhood  ?  Let  them  recollect  that  the  blessing 
whose  loss  they  so  deeply  mourn,  may  now  be  com- 
municated to  the  children.  Let  them  spare  no  efforts 
to  have  all  the  children  possess  this  high  enjoyment. 
No  efforts  will  result  in  greater  effects.  Children, 
when  once  taught,  love  to  sing.  Hardly  any  thing 
can  add  more  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  being,  made  up 
of  affections  and  reason,  as  men  are. 

One  thing  more.  Some  seem  to  feel  that  singing 
God's  praises  is  beneath  them  ;  that  this  part  of  divine 
worship  may  be  left  to  hearts  destitute  of  grace,  and 
to  lips  never  sanctified  by  prayer.     I  cannot  but  pro- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  2(J1 

A  common  feeling  which  is  wrong. 

test  against  this  feeling.  Let  the  theatre  and  the 
opera  be  under  the  control  of  the  wicked, — let  the 
songs  of  revelry  and  folly  pass  through  the  lips  of  the 
profane; — but  shall  the  Christian, — the  redeemed 
sinner,  who  hopes  to  sing  the  praises  of  redeeming 
love  to  all  eternity  in  heaven,  shall  he  refuse  to  sing 
of  that  love  here  on  earth  ?  The  glorious  church  in 
heaven  sing  God's  praises  before  the  universe,  and 
angels  join  in  the  songs,  even  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand, — and  shall  it  be,  that  Christians  are 
above  singing  these  praises  here  on  earth  1  Shame, 
shame  to  a  love  so  cold  a  gratitude  so  dumb  ! 


CHAPTER  IX. 


CONNEXION    OF    THE    MISSIONARY   CAUSE    WITH    THE 
SABBATH  SCHOOL. 

How  far  the  Sabbath  School  should  be  made  a 
Missionary  Society,  or  be  used  to  aid  the  cause  of 
missions,  is  an  important,  but  a  difficult  question  to 
answer.  There  are  difficulties  connected  with  it, 
unseen  at  the  first  glance.  My  own  views  can  be 
briefly  expressed,  though  I  fear  they  will  not  be  satis- 
factory to  many  whom  I  respect,  and  who  may  differ 
from  me. 

I  begin  by  saying  that  I  do  not  think  it  advisable 
to  organize  our  Sabbath  Schools  into  regular  mission- 
ary societies,  temperance  societies,  education  societies, 
&c.  I  am  acquainted  with  some  schools  which  have 
all  these,  with  the  addition  of  anti-slavery  and  colo- 
nization societies;  and  if  the  Christian  community 
should  be  further  divided  into  parties,  would  doubt- 
less have  every  party  represented.  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  great  object  of  the  Institution  is  the  Sabbath 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  263 

One  great  principle  to  be  observed.  Reasons  of  this  principle. 

School,  and  I  should  tremble  to  be  the  one  who 
should  turn  it,  or  begin  to  turn  it  from  its  appropriate 
work.  The  object  is  to  take  children  of  all  ages, 
conditions,  habits,  prejudices,  and  influences,  to  teach 
them  the  word  of  God,  and  to  form  their  characters 
upon  that  word.  There  can  be  but  one  predominant 
object  before  a  school, — and  the  rest  must,  of  course, 
be  subordinate.  That  predominant  object  should  be 
to  teach  the  Bible,  and  to  lead  the  souls  of  the  children 
to  God.  It  must  never  be  lost  sight  of.  For  example, 
if  I  am  teaching  my  class  to-day,  the  parable  of  the 
ten  virgins,  I  wish  no  other  object  to  come  before  the 
mind.  I  wish  to  teach  that  particular  thing,  so 
plainly,  so  clearly,  and  so  forcibly,  that  it  shall  never 
be  forgotten.  My  work  for  the  day  is  to  do  this. 
Now  I  cannot  do  it,  if  the  attention  of  the  school  is 
to  be  diverted,  and  if  a  part  of  the  time  they  are  to 
act  as  a  missionary,  a  tract,  a  temperance,  or  any 
other  society.  Every  teacher  must  feel  that  his  object 
is  nothing  less  than  to  see  each  of  his  pupils  embracing 
Christ,  and  growing  up  in  holiness.  If  a  school  be- 
comes a  missionary  society,  and  takes  that  character, 
that  object  becomes  the  predominant  object,  is  more 
thought  of,  talked  of,  calculated  upon,  than  any  other 
object     Is  this  best  1 

Another  thing.  A  Sabbath  School  whose  great 
object  is  to  be  a  missionary  society,  must  be  a  small 
one ;  because  comparatively  few  parents  feel  an  in- 
terest in  missions.     They  are  not  willing  that  their 


264  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Broad  ground  to  be  maintained.      Spirit  of  missions  in  the  Sabbath  School. 

children  should  be  different  from  the  rest  of  the 
school,  and  yet  are  not  willing  to  aid  them  in  contrib- 
uting. The  result  is,  they  either  keep  their  children 
at  home,  or  send  them  to  some  other  Sabbath  School. 
Sabbath  Schools  can  fulfil  the  great  object  at  which 
they  aim,  in  no  way  so  rapidly,  surely,  and  pleasantly, 
as  by  keeping  to  their  great  object.  By  doing  this,  the 
world,  the  indifferent,  the  irreligious,  and  the  profane, 
will  entrust  their  children  to  their  care.  They  will  do 
less  to  counteract  your  instructions ;  and  the  only  cavil 
which  the  heart  of  malice  can  invent  is,  that  you 
teach  them  the  Bible.  The  institution  is  a  broad  one. 
It  is  to  embrace  all  denominations, — frequently  in  the 
same  school,  and  it  must  stand  on  broad  ground. 
From  this  high  position  I  would  never  have  the  insti- 
tution descend.  I  make  these  remarks  with  the  more 
emphasis,  lest  those  which  are  to  follow  shall  have 
undue  influence. 

But  I  would  have  the  spirit  of  Missions  always  in 
the  Sabbath  School  room.  The  very  employment 
of  the  teachers  is  that  of  being  domestic  missionaries. 
They  act  in  character  only  as  they  have  the  mission- 
ary spirit.  They  are  laboring  for  the  conversion  of 
the  world,  and  from  this  they  can  never  turn  aside ; — 
this  they  can  never  forget.  They  must,  and  they 
will,  then,  create  more  or  less  of  the  missionary  at- 
mosphere around  them.  They  will,  and  they  ought 
to  introduce  the  same  spirit  into  the  school, — ever 
bearing  in  mind,,  that  none  but  a  regenerated  heart 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  265 

General  views  to  be  introduced.  First  view. 

can  truly  and  deeply  enter  into  the  great  work  of 
converting  the  world  to  Christ 

How  far,  then,  should  the  subject  be  introduced, 
and  what  ground  should  it  occupy  1 

It  is  evident  at  the  very  first  view,  that  only  gene- 
ral views,  and  the  great  subject  of  converting  the 
world  can  be  introduced ;  for  if  you  are  to  bring  in 
each  wheel  of  the  machinery,  and  try  to  interest  the 
school  in  sending  missionaries  abroad,  sending  Bibles 
and  tracts,  raising  up  ministers,  and  feeding  the  desti- 
tute with  the  bread  of  life,  you  have  all  the  time 
consumed.     I  reply,  then, 

1.  That  the  school  should  be  taught  on  the  subject 
of  missions,  in  connexion  with  the  Bible. 

The  Bible  predicts  a  day  in  which  the  earth  shall 
be  converted  to  God.  Prophets,  apostles,  and  mar- 
tyrs prayed,  rejoiced,  suffered  and  died  in  view  of 
such  a  day.  The  church  of  God  at  the  present  time 
expects  it ;  she  prays  for  it ;  the  Lord's  prayer  anti- 
cipates it ; — and  the  church  universal  is  now  begin- 
ning to  labor  for  this  great  object.  She  will  not  be 
disappointed, — the  heathen  will  be  given  to  Christ  for 
his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  his  possession.  The  school  should  be  taught  this 
from  the  Bible, — so  plainly  and  clearly,  that  every 
child  may  see  that  we  stand  on  right  ground,  and  on 
an  immovable  position,  when  we  labor  and  pray  for 
the  salvation  of  the  earth.  Let  them  be  taught  that 
we  do  not  run  without  being  sent ;  that  we  go  by 
23 


266  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


To  be  introduced  in  connexion  with  the  Bible.  Several  hints. 

command,  by  direction,  by  the  aid,  the  countenance, 
the  promises,  and  the  blessing  of  God.  We  cannot, 
shall  not  be  disappointed.  The  millennial  day  will 
come.  I  feel  that  it  is  very  important  that  this  light 
be  poured  into  the  mind  in  early  life  ;  that  the  child, 
as  he  grows  up,  may  understand  the  great  principles 
of  action  which  govern  the  church  of  God, — that  he 
may  know  how  to  defend  them ; — that  his  confidence 
in  them  may  be  deep  and  unshaken,  and  that  his 
sympathies,  as  far  as  possible,  may  be  enlisted.  How 
often  such  a  lesson  should  be  given  out,  each  school 
will  determine  for  itself.  Perhaps  once  in  two  months 
will  be  sufficiently  often.  These  recitations  should 
always  be  in  connexion  with  the  Bible,  and  might  be 
classified  something  in  this  way. 

(a.)  How  does  the  description  of  the  Bible  in  re- 
gard to  the  heathen,  correspond  with  their  state  at  the 
present  day ;  and  how  does  this  state  compare  with 
that  created  by  the  full  light  and  influence  of  the 
Gospel ! 

(b.)  What  does  the  Bible  say  is  the  only  remedy 
for  the  condition  of  the  world ; — and  how  does  this 
correspond  with  the  experience  of  men  ? 

(c.)  What  were  the  results  of  the  missions  in  the 
days  of  the  Apostles,  as  they  went  among  the  hea- 
then ;  and  how  do  these  results  correspond  with  the 
effects  produced  by  missionaries  in  our  days  1 

(d.)  What  trials  attended  the  preaching  of  the  Gos- 
pel among  the  heathen  in  the  apostolic  days,  and 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  267 

These  questions  may  be  increased.  Influence  of  such  teaching. 

what  trials  in  these  times?  What  trials  and  difficul- 
ties will  always  have  to  be  encountered'?  What 
inferences  to  be  drawn  in  regard  to  our  prayers  and 
sympathies  for  those  who  are  engaged  in  this  work  ? 

(e.)  What  part  have  children  taken  in  the  cause 
of  religion,  as  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  and  what  have 
they  to  do  in  the  wrork  now  before  the  church? 

(f.)  What  sacrifices  does  the  Bible  require  of  us 
in  the  work  of  converting  the  world  to  Christ,  before 
we  have  done  our  duty  ? 

Questions  like  these,  to  any  extent,  may  be  raised, 
and  all  founded  on  recitations  in  the  Bible.  They 
w7ill  be  answered  by  a  complete  knowledge  of  what 
the  church  is  doing  at  the  present  time  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  world.  This  plan,  or  something  like  it, 
will  give  the  teacher  a  most  admirable  opportunity 
to  contrast  the  condition  of  the  heathen,  and  especially 
heathen  children,  with  those  who  have  the  Gospel ; — 
to  show  the  superiority  and  the  divinity  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  to  impress  the  heart  with  a  sense  of  obliga- 
tion and  gratitude.  The  responsibility  of  the  child 
who  is  born  in  the  land  of  the  Gospel,  can  be  urged 
upon  him  with  great  force  and  power.  'It  can,  I  have 
no  doubt,  be  made  a  powerful  auxiliary  in  leading 
the  soul  to  submission,  and  conversion. 

2.  The  information  communicated  respecting 
modern  missions,  should  be  as  definite  as  possible. 

"  A  mission  in  an  unknown  country  has  no  local 
habitation  for  the  mind  to  fix  upon.     It  can  awaken 


268  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Second  view.  The  mind  demands  instruction  to  be  definite. 

only  a  vague,  uninteresting,  transient  perception :  and 
the  church  will  never  enter  heartily  into  a  plan  for 
Christianizing  all  nations,  until  it  becomes  acquainted 
with  the  geography  of  the  world." 

If,  for  example,  you  have  occasion  to  give  an  illus- 
tration of  the  principles  of  missions, — and  there  are 
some  most  admirable  illustrations  in  it, — from  the  his- 
tory of  the  Greenland  Mission,  try  as  far  as  possible 
to  make  the  child  understand  the  Geography  of  the 
country,  the  climate,  natural  features,  and  all  those 
deep  shades  of  the  picture  which  the  hand  of  nature 
has  put  on.  Let  all  the  information  be  of  this  definite 
kind.  It  is  impossible  for  the  mind  to  be  interested 
in  any  other  way.  It  might  be  well,  too,  to  have  a 
committee,  consisting  of  a  few  of  the  teachers,  and 
as  many  of  the  older  scholars,  to  correspond  with 
some  one  or  more  missionary  stations,  to  make  inqui- 
ries respecting  their  school,  their  children,  and  their 
wants.  I  have  seen  a  school  thrilled  by  the  reading 
of  one  such  letter  from  a  missionary  station.  There 
might  be,  if  thought  best,  a  special  meeting  of  the 
school  to  hear  the  letters  read ;  and  be  sure  to  read 
the  letters  sent  from  the  school,  as  well  as  the  answers 
received,  at  the  same  time.  May  we  not,  if  we  have 
the  true  missionary  spirit  ourselves,  do  much  towards 
creating  and  perpetuating  a  missionary  spirit  in  our 
Sabbath  Schools,  and  that,  too,  without  an  organization 
so  distinct  that  it  shall  create  prejudices  in  the  minds 
of  worldly  people  ?     Shall  we   not,  also,  go  on  the 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  269 

Corresponding  with  missions.        Third  view.        Suggestions  and  hints. 

principle,  that  our  children  are  to  become  Christians, 
and  ministers,  and  missionaries,  and  thus  lead  them 
to  begin  the  work  of  sympathizing  with  the  fallen 
world  from  their  childhood  ?  I  have  no  doubt  but  all 
this  can,  and  might,  and  ought  to  be  done ;  and  I 
pray  that  the  spirit  which  baptized  apostles,  and  all 
the  "  sacramental  host  of  God's  elect,"  may  baptize 
the  children  of  our  Sabbath  Schools. 

3.  There  ought  to  be  a  system  of  contributions  for 
the  spreading  of  the  Gospel,  introduced  into  every 
school. 

The  object  of  introducing  such  a  system  is  three- 
fold ; — to  raise  money  by  which  to  carry  on  the  plans 
of  the  church, — very  considerable  sums,  too,  might 
easily  be  raised  in  our  Sabbath  Schools ; — to  teach 
the  children  how  to  exercise  benevolence,  and  of  con- 
sequence, to  acquire  the  habit  of  it,  as  every  exercise 
will  strengthen  the  habit, — and  to  teach  the  child  to 
exercise  self-denial  in  obtaining  the  money  which  he 
contributes.  Every  thing  of  this  kind  should  be  regu- 
lar and  periodical ;  and  perhaps  the  plan  of  having 
a  contribution  brought  in  once  every  month,  will  be 
a  good  one.  As  far  as  possible,  encourage  the  chil- 
dren to  give  the  money  which  they  have  earned  by 
some  labor  or  self-denial.  Show  that  you  are  inter- 
ested in  their  little  contributions,  and  encourage  them 
to  feel  that  the  smallest  sum,  given  from  right  motives, 
is  neither  overlooked  nor  forgotten  by  the  great  Re- 
deemer. At  the  same  time  avoid  making  the  impres- 
23* 


270  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

A  certain  principle  to  be  acted  on. 

sion  that  giving  in  this  way  is  piety, — because  a  child 
may  bring  his  pennies,  and  yet  carry  the  heart  of  a 
little  Pharisee.  Avoid,  also,  casting  blame  or  censure 
upon  a  child  who  does  not  contribute, — at  least  till  you 
know  the  reason.  His  parents  may  be  too  poor, — he 
may  have  no  parents,  or  they  may  be  unwilling  to 
furnish  the  child  with  money,  and  he  knows  not  how 
to  earn  any  himself.  I  have  known  children  make 
very  great  sacrifices  to  earn  money, — others  to  endure 
great  self-denial  to  obtain  it,  in  order  to  contribute ; 
and  I  have  known  others  whose  feelings  were  cruelly 
and  unnecessarily  wounded  when  they  could  not  con- 
tribute. Some  teachers  who  have  so  far  acquired 
the  confidence  of  the  class  as  to  know  the  real  situa- 
tion and  disposition  of  each  one,  have  hired  such 
children  as  were  unable  otherwise  to  obtain  money, 
to  do  little  jobs  for  them,  for  which  they  have 
paid  them,  and  thus  the  contributions  of  the  teacher 
passed  through  the  hands  of  his  poor  scholars. 

But  every  school  should  have  regular,  stated  sea- 
sons of  contributing,  and  an  object  to  which  the  char- 
ity is  applied  so  definite,  and  so  tangible,  that  they 
can  all  see  that  the  little  stream  of  charity  which 
takes  its  rise  in  their  schools,  does,  indeed,  flow  into 
the  great  river,  and  swell  its  tide,  and  cause  the 
waters  to  reach  those  who  are  perishing  with  thirst. 
As  to  the  precise  mode  of  doing  this,  every  school 
will  choose  to  have  its  own  way  and  method.  Go  on 
the  principle, — it  is  always  safe  and  sure,  never  yet 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  271 


Conclusion. 


been  known  to  fail, — that  God  will  never  be  indebted 
to  his  creatures  for  the  smallest  gifts  to  him ;  he  will 
reward  them  all,  and  return  the  cup  full  and  running 
over ;  and  while  I  do  not  believe  that  a  school  or  a 
child  can  do  any  thing  like  purchasing  his  own  salva- 
tion with  his  contributions,  I  do,  at  the  same  time, 
believe  that  he  is  more  likely  to  receive  salvation,  in 
consequence  of  such  charity.  Let  them  begin  life,  as 
if  the  service  of  God  was  to  be  the  object  of  life,  and 
see  that  it  is  the  object  of  your  life ;  let  them  feel  that 
in  this  life,  we  only  begin  to  enter  upon  a  service  so 
glorious  that  the  angel  feels  honored  in  being  a  ser- 
vant in  its  cause, — a  service  which  brings  peace  of 
conscience  here, — a  support  which  is  stronger  than 
hope  as  we  pass  from  time  into  eternity,  and  that  it 
will  lead  to  what  more  than  tills  the  measure  of  our 
hopes,  and  more  than  satisfies  the  highest  desires  of 
the  souL 


CHAPTER  X. 


DUTY  OF  THE  CHURCH  AND  PASTOR  TO  THE 
SABBATH  SCHOOL. 

I  begin  the  remarks  which  I  am  about  to  offer  on 
this  subject  by  taking  it  for  granted  that  every 
church  will  wish  to  have  a  Sabbath  School  under  her 
immediate  care,  sympathy,  and  direction,  and  that 
she  would  be  glad  to  know  what  her  duties  are,  that 
she  may  perform  them  to  the  best  advantage.  Every 
church  ought  to  know  when  she  has  performed  her 
duties  to  the  Sabbath  School,  and  I  shall  esteem  it 
no  small  happiness  if  I  may  be  able  to  lay  them 
plainly  before  her. 

There  are  certain  errors  which  prevail  extensively 
among  our  churches  in  connexion  with  the  cause  of 
Sabbath  Schools,  —  errors  which  discourage  the 
teacher,  and  frequently  destroy  not  a  little  of  the  good 
which  would  otherwise  flow  from  his  labors.  I  wish 
briefly  to  specify  some  of  these  errors. 

879 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  273 


First  error, — instruction  at  home,  not  needed. 

First  error  ;  that  children  who  go  to  the  Sabbath 
School  do  not  need  so  careful  instruction  at  home. 

It  is  far  from  being  improbable  that  the  day  of 
Judgment  will  reveal  the  names  of  many  who  with 
the  lips  favored  Sabbath  Schools,  and  sent  their  chil- 
dren to  them  for  the  very  purpose  of  throwing  off 
the  trouble  and  responsibility  of  religiously  instruct- 
ing them  at  home.  '  I  need  not  talk  with  my  child 
on  the  Sabbath  on  the  subject  of  religion ;  I  need 
not  try  to  bring  his  conscience  under  the  light  of  the 
Bible ;  I  need  not  endeavor  to  gain  his  roving  atten- 
tion with  the  view  of  fixing  his  thoughts  on  God  and 
eternal  things ; — especially  I  need  not  give  him  the 
opportunity  to  say  by  his  looks,  "  my  father,  I  do  not 
see  you  bearing  this  holiness  and  showing  it  in  your 
life,  though  you  urge  it  upon  me  and  profess  it  your- 
self;"— I  need  not  take  him  alone  and  pray  for  him, 
and  over  him, — because — he  goes  to  the  Sabbath 
School.  I  am  careful  to  have  him  go  constantly,  and 
he  is  there  instructed  in  religion.  If  I  also  teach 
him,  he  will  hear  so  much  about  religion,  that  he 
will  be  disgusted.'  Such  is  the  language  of  the  heart, 
while  the  child  is  turned  away  from  the  father's 
table,  and  sent  to  find  bread  at  the  hand  of  strangers. 
Alas!  for  such  cruelty.  God  has  laid  duties  upon 
parents  which  they  can  neither  throw  off,  nor  dele- 
gate to  others.  The  Sabbath  School  was  designed  to 
co-operate  with  parents,  to  aid  them  in  training 
their  children  up  for  the  service  of  God  on  earth,  and 


274       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Parents  cannot  delegate  instruction. 


for  the  rewards  of  this  service  in  heaven.  It  cannot 
so  take  the  place  of  parental  instruction  as  to  excuse 
the  father  or  the  mother  from  doing  their  duty.  You 
can  never  know,  till  the  light  of  eternity  reveals  it, 
how  cruel  it  is  to  push  the  child  from  the  bosom  of  his 
parent;  and  if  he  lives  after  that  parent  is  gone, 
memory  can  never  lead  him  to  the  spot, — the  chamber 
in  which  his  parents  used  to  pray  with  him  and  teach 
him.  The  cultivation  of  the  heart  of  the  child  will 
draw  it  out  with  love  and  reverence.  That  poor 
child  who  has  no  parents,  finds  in  the  Sabbath  School 
a  substitute  for  the  kind  and  tender  admonitions  of 
parents ;  and  that  child  who  has  parents  will  find  it 
an  additional  blessing.  But  the  head  of  the  family 
is  the  priest  whom  God  hath  placed  there  to  minister 
to  the  temporal  and  spiritual  wants  of  the  little  con- 
gregation, and  woe  to  the  family  and  woe  to  the 
church,  when  the  Sabbath  School  shall  supersede  the 
religious  instructions  of  the  fire-side.  When  it  shall 
be  left  to  the  teacher  in  the  School  to  do  the  work 
of  praying  for  the  children  and  of  instructing  them, 
one  of  the  most  glorious  ends  of  the  family  relation 
will  have  been  lost  sight  of,  and  one  of  the  dearest 
privileges  of  the  child  will  be  destroyed, — that  of  be- 
ing led  to  God  by  his  own  parents. 

*  Many  seem  to  think  that  the  responsibility  is 
transferred  from  themselves  to  the  teachers.  When 
their  children  are  committed  to  the  school,  their 
duty  seems  done.     They  hope  and  believe  it  is  well 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.       275 

Second  error, — throwing  all  the  responsibility  upon  teachers. 

with  their  children,  since  they  are  enjoying  Sabbath 
School  instruction, — with  what  kind  of  fidelity  or 
appropriateness  they  are  unable  to  tell.  But  they 
indolently  conclude,  since  they  patronize  the  school, 
and  their  children  are  there,  all  is  well.  But  no 
parent  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  this.  He  ought  to 
have  a  personal  acquaintance  with  this  important 
business.  He  should  be  their  principal  instructor 
himself. 

Let  every  kind  and  every  reasonable  degree  of  in- 
fluence be  thrown  into  the  Sabbath  School,  but  do 
not  intrust  to  others  the  exclusive  care  of  immortal 
minds.  Burnish  these  precious  jewels  with  your  own 
hands.  Transfer  the  responsibility  of  training  them 
up  for  God  to  no  mortal.  None  have  a  parent's 
heart  to  feel, — none  a  parent's  account  to  render. 
And  none,  if  they  are  what  they  ought  to  be,  can  do 
this  work  so  well.' 

Second  error  ;  throwing  all  the  responsibility  of 
the  school  upon  the  teachers. 

Some  churches  will  do  so  much  as  to  select  and 
vote  for  a  certain  number  of  men  and  women  to  be 
teachers  once  a  year.  Others  will  not  even  do  as 
much  as  this.  All  is  left  in  the  hands  of  the  teachers. 
If  the  Pastor,  amid  all  this  apathy,  is  disposed  to  take 
hold  and  lift  and  aid  the  teachers,  it  is  very  well ; 
but  if  he  is  not  so  disposed,  it  is  just  as  well.  Are  the 
teachers  in  your  school  faithful  ?  The  church  does 
not  know;  she  only  knows  that  they  have  all  the 


276  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


The  church  ought  to  know  all  about  the  school. 


work  to  do.  Are  the  teachers  qualified  1  The  church 
does  not  know;  she  hardly  knows  who  they  are. 
Do  they  study  the  lesson  and  understand  the  Bible, 
or  do  they  come,  and  yawn  over  the  lesson,  impa- 
tiently waiting  to  have  the  long  hour  of  recitation  over? 
The  church  does  not  know.  Do  the  teachers  meet 
and  pray  together  for  grace,  and  patience,  and  the 
qualifications  which  the  Holy  Spirit  only  can  impart  ? 
Do  they  read, — do  they  keep  up  with  the  times, — 
are  the  books  in  the  Library  such  that  they  can  re- 
ceive benefit  from  them  ?  The  church  does  not  know. 
She  never  attends  the  meetings  of  the  teachers, — 
never  unites  with  them  in  prayer,  and  has  only  a 
general  impression  as  to  the  popularity  of  the  school. 
When  asked  to  contribute,  she  feels  that  all  that  she 
does  by  way  of  giving  money,  is  a  kind  of  bounty  to 
the  teachers,  and  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  children, 
and  the  families  of  the  whole  congregation.  This  is 
a  criminal  course  in  a  church.  The  interests,  the 
immortal,  undying  interests  of  your  children  ought 
not  thus  to  be  put  out  of  your  hands  and  away  from 
your  knowledge.  The  whole  church  ought  to  meet 
with  the  teachers,  to  pray  with  them,  to  sympathize 
with  them,  and  to  share  their  burdens,  and  their  dis- 
couragements. There  is  neither  justice,  nor  mercy, 
nor  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  in  thus  rolling  oflf  the 
burden  upon  the  teachers, — a  burden  which  no  set 
of  teachers  whom  I  have  ever  seen,  are  competent  to 
bear. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  277 

Third  error,— inadequate  views,  &c. 

Sometimes  a  church  will  send  a  committee  into  the 
Sabbath  School  to  examine  it.  This  is  a  very  little 
better  than  nothing ;  but  the  whole  church  ought  to 
be  so  well  acquainted  with  it,  that  no  committee  can 
add  to  her  information. 

Third  error  ;  an  inadequate  sense  of  the  import- 
ance of  having  good  teachers. 

When  teachers  are  to  be  selected,  it  is  frequently 
the  case,  that  the  church  look  around  to  see, — not 
who  is  qualified, — but  who  will  do,  taking  the  lowest 
possible  standard  by  which  to  decide  the  question. 
One  will  be  selected,  not  because  he  is  the  proper 
person,  but  because  his  father  may  think  it  strange 
if  he  be  omitted ;  another,  because  she  belongs  to  a 
very  respectable  family,  and  it  would  be  a  pity  not 
to  have  the  influence  of  such  families ;  and  a  third, 
because  he  seems  to  sit  so  loosely  upon  his  seat  in 
this  church  that  it  becomes  necessary  to  tie  him  by 
making  him  a  teacher,  lest  he  go  somewhere  else. 
Can  a  school  be  expected  to  flourish  when  its  teachers 
are  selected  on  such  principles  ? 

Blessed  will  that  day  be,  when  our  young  men  and 
our  young  females  shall  make  it  a  part  of  their  edu- 
cation and  thoughts  while  studying,  to  prepare  them- 
selves to  become  Sabbath  School  teachers ; — and 
when  a  generation  shall  rise  up  who  know  how  to 
reach  the  mind  of  children,  because  they  were 
taught  in  the  Sabbath  School,  and  thus  obtained  their 
qualifications.  As  things  now  are,  we  are  wofully 
24 


278  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Teachers  must  be  trained  up. 

deficient  in  good  teachers.  I  speak  this,  not  to  re- 
proach, nor  to  blame  any  who  are  teachers.  They 
shall  have  great  credit  for  what  they  are  doing ;  but 
I  know  they  are  not  so  vain  as  not  to  be  sensible  that 
I  am  speaking  nothing  but  the  plain  truth,  when  I 
say  that  our  teachers,  as  a  whole,  are  far  from  being 
properly  qualified.  Perhaps  most  of  them  have  done 
the  best  they  could, — we  are  thankful  to  them,  and 
we  regret  that  they  are  not  better  furnished.  But 
why  are  they  not  abundantly  qualified  1  I  put  the 
question  to  every  church,  why  are  they  not  qualified  1 
And  why  are  first-rate  teachers  so  scarce  I  I  reply, 
because  the  church  has  never  yet  felt  this  subject, 
nor  attended  to  it.  Heretofore,  if  a  father  gave  his 
son  any  education,  it  was  to  enable  him  to  read,  and 
write,  and  keep  his  accounts,  and  thus  get  through 
the  world.  Perhaps  he  gave  education  sufficient  to 
qualify  him  to  teach  a  district  school,  or  to  enter  a 
store  as  a  clerk.  But  how  few  fathers  and  mothers 
have  thought  and  planned  and  prayed  over  the  edu- 
cation of  their  child,  because  they  were  anxious,  that 
by  this  education,  that  child  might  be  well  qualified 
to  be  a  Sabbath  School  teacher !  How  common  to 
have  a  committee  selected  who  must  carefully  and 
thoroughly  examine  the  man  who  proposes  to  teach 
a  day-school,  and  yet,  when  the  same  children,  who 
compose  this  week-day  school,  are  gathered  into  the 
Sabbath  School,  and  are  to  be  instructed  in  the  great 
concerns  of  religion,  they  may  fall  into  the  hands  of 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  279 

Fourth  error,— inadequate  views  of  the  aids  of  the  Sabbath  School. 

any  who  may  happen  to  be  willing  to  take  them. 
They  may  be  Christians  or  not,  they  may  be  such  as 
the  child  could  not  be  entrusted  with  in  a  school  on 
other  days,  or  not.  Is  this  right  1  No,  no,  it  is  not. 
Teachers  must  be  raised  up  in  the  bosom  of  the 
church.  They  ought  to  be  pious,  holy,  devoted, 
patient,  untiring,  disinterested  men.  And  the  church 
can  never  do  her  duty  to  the  Sabbath  School,  till 
she  prays  over  this  subject,  makes  it  one  object  in 
the  education  of  her  sons  and  her  daughters,  to 
qualify  them  to  become  teachers  in  the  Sabbath 
School. 

Fourth  error  :  that  of  having  inadequate  views 
of  the  aid  which  a  family  receive  from  the  Sabbath 
School,  in  training  up  their  children. 

It  may  be  that  the  early  education  of  the  pa- 
rents, their  acquired  habits,  or  their  circumstances 
put  it  out  of  their  power  to  teach  their  children  to  be 
punctual.  And  yet  it  is  of  unspeakable  importance 
to  the  child  that  he  have  these  habits.  He  is  sent  to 
the  Sabbath  School,  and  there  he  learns  what 
punctuality  is,  and  conforms  to  it.  The  machinery 
is  put  in  motion  at  such  a  moment,  and  it  closes  at  a 
particular  moment,  and  multitudes  of  children  have 
not  only  here  obtained  their  first  ideas  of  punctuality, 
but  have  here  acquired  the  invaluable  habit  of  being 
punctual. 

Is  it  of  great  consequence  that  your  child  have  the 
spirit  and  the  habit  of  subordination  ?   Perhaps  there 


280  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  influences  of  the  Sabbath  School  in  forming  character. 

is  far  too  little  of  family  government  under  your  roof. 
But  your  child  can  never  govern  himself,  unless  he 
be  taught  to  obey  now,  while  a  child.  In  the  Sab- 
bath School  he  has  this  discipline.  Every  week  he 
submits  his  will  to  the  will  of  his  teacher,  submits  to 
restraints  and  to  government.  This  is  a  great  bless- 
ing to  a  child  who  is  not  sufficiently  governed  at 
home.  And  what  is  better  than  all,  is,  that  children 
in  the  Sabbath  School  are  subdued  by  the  law  of 
kindness.  It  is  well  known  that  a  savage  is  softened 
by  being  taken  and  dressed  up  and  for  a  few  times 
introduced  into  genteel  society.  And  can  kindness 
and  love, — disinterested  love  ever  be  brought  to  bear 
on  a  human  being,  and  that  being  a  child,  without 
softening  him  1  Never.  And  every  week  your  child 
is  chained  down  by  the  bonds  of  love.  Do  you  wish  to 
have  your  child  disciplined, — I  mean,  to  have  his  atten- 
tion arrested  and  frequently  riveted,  till  he  can  hold  his 
mind  down  to  a  single  point  ?  The  Sabbath  School 
does  this,  and  is  a  very  powerful  instrument  by  which 
to  cultivate  the  power  of  attention.  Do  you  wish  to 
have  the  memory  of  your  child  strengthened  and 
cultivated,  so  that  he  can  compare  and  reflect,  till  he 
can,  by  himself,  draw  conclusions  and  correct  in- 
ferences 1  If  well  and  properly  taught,  he  learns  to 
do  this  in  the  Sabbath  School.  You  wish  your  child 
to  have  the  power  of  manly  and  rational  conversa- 
tion, so  that  when  he  talks,  it  shall  be  with  propriety, 
without  diffidence,  or  impudence.     He  learns  how  to 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER  281 

Duties  of  the  church.  First  duty,— understand  the  system. 

do  this  at  the  Sabbath  School.  You  wish  him  to 
have  a  conscience  that  is  cultivated,  that  he  may  do 
his  duty  to  man,  and  his  duty  to  God,  and  thus  walk 
in  the  path  that  leads  to  eternal  life  and  glory.  You 
would  have  him  learn  "  what  is  the  chief  end  of  man," 
that  his  soul  may  at  last  be  saved,  and  shine  in  the 
everlasting  kingdom  of  God  as  the  sun  in  the  firma- 
ment forever  and  ever.  The  Sabbath  School  is 
pledged  to  aid  you  in  all  this.  The  better  teachers 
that  church  brings  into  the  school,  the  more  prayer 
she  throws  around  it,  the  more  intense  interest  she 
takes  in  this  young  garden  of  the  Lord,  the  more  is 
she  doing  to  aid  every  family  in  training  up  their 
children  for  the  honors  and  rewards  of  heaven.  And 
the  father  who  understands  the  subject,  will  see  that 
it  is  a  most  wise  and  wonderful  instrument  by  which 
he  may  be  aided  in  the  great  work  of  leading  his 
children  to  God.  Every  effort  of  his  will  be  seconded, 
every  impression  which  he  makes  will  be  deepened, 
and  every  prayer  which  he  offers  for  the  salvation 
of  his  child  will  find  a  response  from  the  teacher. 

I  must  now  turn  to  the  consideration  of  the 
duties  which  the  church  owes  to  the  Sabbath  School. 

1.  The  system  ought  to  be  thoroughly  understood 
by  every  church. 

Let  me  lean  to  the  side  of  charity ;  and  I  think  I 

can  do  that  while  I  say  that  many  who  patronize  the 

Sabbath  School,  and  who  speak  well  of  it,  seem  to 

feel  as  if  it  were  something  in  which  they  have  little 

24* 


282  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Responsibility  in  this  respect. 

or  no  interest.  It  is  a  kind  of  appendix  to  the  Sab- 
bath,— a  very  good  thing  indeed,  since  it  keeps  the 
children  from  being  at  play,  or  relieves  them  from  the 
wearisomeness  of  the  Sabbath,  and  it  furnishes  the 
teachers  with  something  by  which  to  occupy  their 
thoughts  and  their  time.  I  am  not  sure  that  many 
might  not  be  found  even  in  the  ranks  of  teachers  whose 
views  of  the  subject  are  such,  that  they  would  draw 
back  the  hand  at  once,  were  it  not  that  they  can  do 
the  work  on  the  Sabbath,  and  thus  not  lose  any  time 
which  is  so  precious  to  devote  to  business  or  to  the 
world.  Would  it  not  be  so,  that  but  few  of  these 
schools  would  be  kept  in  operation,  even  if  all  the 
children  would  attend  them,  were  the  teachers  under 
the  necessity  of  doing  the  work  on  any  other  day  ? 
Is  this  a  true  and  correct  estimate  of  the  value  of 
the  system  1 

All  allow  that  before  Sabbath  Schools  were  so 
multiplied,  it  was  a  good  thing  in  the  minister  to 
meet,  catechise,  and  instruct  the  children  under  his 
charge :  all  allow  too,  that  the  Sabbath  School  is  a 
much  more  valuable  way  of  educating  the  rising 
generation  for  God,  inasmuch  as  a  whole  church  can 
do  more  for  her  children  than  a  single  mind  can  do. 
It  follows,  then,  that  if  Sabbath  Schools  could  not  be 
held  on  the  Sabbath,  they  ought  to  be  held  some  day 
during  the  week,  and  the  church  ought  to  do  the 
work.  But  have  our  churches  such  views  of  this 
subject  ?     Do  they  feel,  and  try  to  make  all  around 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.       233 


Peculiar  benefits  of  the  Sabbath  School  hardly  appreciated. 


feel,  that  it  is,  next  to  the  ministry,  by  far  the 
mightiest  lever  put  into  the  hands  of  God's  people, 
by  which  to  raise  the  world  ?  Some  will  praise  the 
system,  perhaps  contribute  a  part  of  a  dollar  annually 
for  its  benefit,  perhaps  now  and  then  step  into  it ;  but 
they  do  not  understand  its  design,  its  power,  or  its 
usefulness.  They  do  not  know  how  it  is  a  grand  im- 
provement upon  the  old  system  of  education,  when 
the  children  of  the  church  were  suffered  to  grow  up 
almost  without  religious  instruction  and  religious  im- 
pression ;  and  when  the  field  ought  to  have  been  bring- 
ing forth  fruit,  it  was  found  to  be  full  of  tares.  Weep- 
ing parents  often  bent  over  their  unconverted  children 
in  anguish,  and  cried, "  an  enemy  hath  done  this ;"  but 
they  overlooked  the  grand  secret,  that  the  ground 
must  be  preoccupied.  '  It  is  now  beginning  to  be 
found  that  it  is  easier  and  wiser  to  preoccupy  than  to 
dislodge ;  that  it  is  infinitely  important  that  the  soul 
should  hear  the  voice  of  God,  before  the  syren  song 
of  the  great  deceiver.'  This  system  gives  the  child 
the  solemn  voice  of  a  powerful  guardian,  and  thus 
hushes  the  voice  of  temptation,  and  breaks  the  charms 
that  would  delude  and  seduce.  It  holds  a  brazen 
shield  over  the  immortal  being  even  from  his  child- 
hood, against  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one.  It 
holds  the  misguided  youth  even  when  driven  by  the 
winds  of  temptation  from  rushing  oflf  the  precipice 
into  the  gulf  of  despair. 


284  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Second  duty, — speaking  well  of  teachers. 


2.  The  church  ought  to  be  careful  to  speak  respect- 
fully and  affectionately  of  the  teachers. 

You  send  your  child  to  the  Sabbath  School.  He 
watches  you  to  know  why  you  send  him,  and  what 
you  think  of  the  school.  Perhaps,  as  parents,  you 
give  your  approbation  to  the  school ;  but  it  is  that 
languid,  heartless  approbation,  which  is  worse  than 
silence.  '  They  are  friendly  to  the  cause.  They  can 
use  freely  the  language  of  approbation ;  but  the  heart 
is  not  in  it.  There  is  no  deep  emotion  on  the  subject 
The  head  is  indeed  near  the  equator,  but  the  heart 
is  at  the  poles.  A  man's  tongue  may  be  loose,  while 
his  soul  is  ice-bound.  The  lack  is  not  that  of  praise, 
but  of  self-denying  energy.  They  are  not  prepared 
to  encounter  the  obstacles  in  bringing  the  influence 
of  the  Sabbath  School  over  their  children.  If  suita- 
ble apparel  is  not  provided,  no  pains  are  taken  to  fur- 
nish it.  If  a  little  reluctance  is  manifested  by  the 
children,  the  question  of  their  staying  at  home  is 
easily  settled  in  their  favor.  They  are  not  strongly 
and  earnestly  urged  to  this  duty.  This  languor  and 
indifference  are  imbibed  by  the  children :  their  attend 
ance  on  the  Sabbath  becomes  a  mere  whim.  They 
are  their  own  masters.  There  is  no  steady,  strong, 
decisive  parental  influence.  The  children,  when  they 
come  to  the  school,  have  the  family  likeness,  and  are 
as  cold  and  uninterested  there,  as  are  their  friends  at 
home.     Thus  do  parents  multiply  the  sorrows  of  the 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  285 

Great  care  needed  on  this  point. 

faithful  teacher,  and  thus  do  they  lay  up  a  fearful 
account  to  be  rendered  at  last  for  the  consequences.' 

You  know  a  teacher  in  the  school,  perhaps  more 
than  one,  of  whom  you  do  not  think  very  highly.  He 
is  not  qualified  for  his  station.  But  whose  fault  is  it  ? 
The  church  have  put  the  best  in  the  office  to  be 
found ;  and  till  you  have  done  all  within  your  power 
to  raise  up  good  teachers,  you  ought  not  to  complain. 
Now  will  you  destroy  the  whole  influence  of  that 
school  over  your  child,  by  your  prejudices,  your  un- 
kind remarks, — by  your  uncharitable  insinuations,  by 
your  unmanly,  as  well  as  unchristian  thrusts?  No 
child  goes  to  the  Sabbath  School  without  knowing 
precisely  what  his  parents  think  of  the  school,  and 
of  his  teacher  in  particular.  A  few  words  incau- 
tiously dropped,  a  few  improper  remarks,  may  coun- 
teract all  that  can  be  done  for  your  child  at  school, 
and  perhaps  ruin  his  soul  forever.  What  shall  you 
do?  Would  I  have  you  speak  well  of  a  teacher, 
when  you  do  not  think  well  of  him,  and  thus  play 
the  hypocrite  before  your  child  ?  No.  But  I  would 
have  you  think  well  of  the  teacher,  believe  that  he 
does  the  best  he  can;  and  remember  that  if  the 
teachers  are  not  qualified,  it  is  a  matter  of  humilia- 
tion to  you  that  you  have  not  labored  and  prayed 
more  to  raise  up  good  teachers. 

Besides,  the  teacher  is  doing  the  work  of  the  pa- 
rent,— he  is  doing  the  hardest,  most  difficult  and 
responsible  work  of  the  parents  every  week ;  he  is 


286  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Third  duty,— aiding  the  child  to  get  the  lesson.    Examples  of  discouragement. 

trying  to  aid  you  without  fee  or  reward,  and  will  you, 
can  you  throw  so  much  responsibility  upon  him,  and 
then  add  insult  to  ingratitude,  and  do  all  that  you  can 
to  crush  his  hopes  of  usefulness,  and  destroy  all  his 
means  of  doing  good  to  your  child  t 

3.  The  child  ought  to  have  the  assistance  of  his 
parents  at  home  in  understanding  the  Sabbath 
School  lesson. 

The  lesson  of  the  Sabbath  School  is,  or  ought  to 
be,  short.  It  is  almost  uniformly  on  some  interesting, 
useful,  instructive,  and  practical  part  of  the  Bible. 
Every  member  of  the  church  ought  to  study  so  much 
of  the  word  of  God  every  week,  as  to  obtain  a  full, 
clear,  and  thorough  knowledge  of  this  single  lesson. 
No  man  can  hope  to  grow  in  a  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures,  who  does  not  do  as  much  as  that.  For 
their  own  improvement,  then,  every  man,  woman, 
and  child,  ought  to  study  the  lesson  of  the  Sabbath 
School.  But  what  is  the  fact  ]  Excepting  those  who 
are  compelled  to  study  in  consequence  of  being 
teachers,  how  few  even  try  to  keep  up  with  the  chil- 
dren in  the  Sabbath  School ! 

Your  child  comes  into  the  room  with  his  Bible  in 
his  hand  to  get  his  lesson ;  he  has  no  helps  but  his 
question-book.  He  soon  comes  to  a  question  which 
he  cannot  answer.  He  looks  up.  His  mother  is  too 
busy  to  give  him  her  eye.  He  asks  a  question,  and 
is  told,  in  a  cold,  indifferent  tone,  *  I  don't  know  any 
thing  about  it,' — or, '  don't  trouble  me  now,'— -or,  *  I 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.       287 

Example  of  a  family  who  do  right. 

wish  you  would  go  into  your  room,  and  study  your  les- 
sons by  yourself,'  or,  '  you  must  ask  your  teacher,  it 
is  not  my  business  to  teach  you  the  lesson,' — or,  *  you 
will  have  it  all  explained  to  you,  I  presume,  on  the 
Sabbath.'  That  child  must  be  very  remarkable  in- 
deed, who,  under  such  circumstances,  can  help  feeling 
discouraged.  On  the  contrary,  let  the  child  see  that 
his  parents  know,  that  his  parents  honor  the  lesson, 
that  they  will  study  it  with  him,  and  will  aid  him  to 
understand  it,  and  he  stands  on  very  different  ground. 
The  following  beautiful  picture  of  what  I  could  wish 
every  family  to  be,  is  so  appropriate,  that  I  do  not 
think  my  reader  will  regret  to  see  it.  It  is  a  true 
narrative. 

*  It  was  Saturday  evening  when  1  arrived  at  the 
house  of  my  friend,  in  a  retired  village  in  Massachu- 
setts. The  family  had  just  risen  from  the  table,  and 
the  little  ones  were  retiring  to  rest,  when  one  of  the 
elder  children  requested  their  mother's  permission  to 
attend  the  teacher's  meeting  that  evening.' 

"  The  rain  will  prevent  a  meeting  to  night,"  replied 
her  mother,  "  but  we  will  not  be  denied  the  privilege 
of  studying  the  lesson." 

Accordingly,  the  table  was  soon  covered  with 
books,  and  surrounded  by  the  happy  family. 

"  This  is  our  usual  custom,"  said  the  mother,  "  when 
the  weather  deprives  us  of  the  assistance  of  our  min- 
ister, whose  kind  instructions  have  for  many  years 


288  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER, 

Illustration  continued 

greatly  assisted  the  teachers  in  their  benevolent 
work." 

I  declined  an  invitation  to  join  the  interesting  cir- 
cle, but  was  a  highly  gratified  spectator.  Here  were 
the  father  and  mother,  with  three  lovely  children, 
together  with  a  modest  young  woman  residing  in  the 
family,  with  their  Bibles  open.  Each  one  was  ques- 
tioned in  turn,  references  were  found  and  impressively 
read,  maps  consulted,  and  the  Bible  Dictionary  often 
referred  to.  The  intelligent  and  unrestrained  ques- 
tions of  the  children,  clearly  manifested  that  it  was 
no  new  employment.  The  Bible  seemed  to  them  not 
only  a  familiar,  but  a  beloved  book.  While  looking 
at  this  animated  scene,  my  mind  unconsciously  glanced 
back  over  a  period  of  sixteen  years,  which  I  have 
been  permitted  to  spend  as  a  Sabbath  School  teacher, 
and  I  could  not  but  reflect,  oh !  had  I  thus  been  aided 
by  Christian  parents,  cheerful  and  effectual  had  been 
my  labors,  where  now,  I  fear,  they  were  lost ! 

After  the  lesson  was  concluded,  family  prayer 
offered,  and  the  children  had  retired,  the  following 
conversation  took  place. 

"  I  am  delighted  to  find  your  children  engage  with 
so  much  pleasure  in  studying  the  Bible.  How  have 
you  managed  to  make  it  so  agreeable  V9 

"  We  have  never  found  any  difficulty  in  making 
the  word  of  God  a  pleasant  study.  In  the  first  place, 
my  little  children  are  taught  many  of  its  stories  be- 
fore they  can  read.     And  as  soon  as  they  become 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER       289 

Illustration  continued. 

Sabbath  scholars,  we  make  it  a  point  to  study  the 
lesson  with  them.  I  believe  they  were  never  sent 
away  to  get  it  by  themselves ;  this  would  seem  too 
much  like  a  task.  Either  one  or  both  of  us  always 
take  the  lesson  and  show  them  that  we  cannot  be 
denied  the  privilege.  We  ask,  and  in  our  turn  an- 
swer the  question,  talk  over  the  scene,  imagine  our- 
selves in  the  very  spot,  and  endeavour  as  much  as 
possible  to  interest  and  impress  our  young  scholars. 
This  is  done  on  Saturday  evening,  or  Sabbath  morn- 
ing. But  there  is  another  method  adopted  by  their 
mother,  which  I  think  still  better.  Every  morning 
during  the  week  after  family  prayer  and  breakfast, 
the  children  have  always  been  accustomed  to  read 
with  her  a  chapter,  which  is  talked  over  in  the  same 
way.  Questions  are  continually  arising  while  it  is 
read,  and  thus  the  habit  is  formed,  of  daily  reading 
the  word  of  God  with  pleasure  and  attention." 

"  Your  method  is  certainly  a  very  simple  one,  and 
how  easily  might  every  Christian  parent  adopt  it !" 

"  Yes,  for  although  the  Holy  Spirit  alone  can  take 
of  the  things  of  God  and  show  them  to  our  dear 
children,  yet  I  am  confident  that  parents  can  do  much 
to  render  this  blessed  volume  a  precious  book  to  their 
children.  If  with  a  countenance  beaming  with  plea- 
sure, they  would  say,  *  come,  let  us  read  it  together, 
my  children,'  instead  of  assigning  it  as  a  daily  task  to 
be  run  over  alone,  the  time  might  not  be  distant  when 
it  would  be  to  both  better  than  "gold,  even  fine  gold, 
25 


290  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Fourth  duty,— give  countenance. 


sweeter  than  honey  and  the  honey-comb;"  and  I 
think  it  would  essentially  aid  you,  who  are  Sabbath 
School  teachers,  for  I  know  you  must  have  your 
trials  as  well  as  your  pleasures,  and  many  of  the 
trials  must  arise  from  the  negligence  of  parents.  God 
forbid  that  such  negligence  be  laid  to  Christian  pa- 
rents, and  yet  is  it  not  a  sad  truth,  that  the  children 
of  many  of  them  have  not  learned  to  esteem  this 
holy  book  as  their  necessary  food  V 

Alas !  why  is  it  that  many  parents  prefer  that  the 
teacher  explain  the  lesson  to  their  children,  or  that  the 
minister  explain  it  from  the  pulpit,  or  that  it  go 
unexplained,  to  becoming  scholars  themselves  and 
aiding  their  children  to  understand  it?  Let  those 
of  my  readers  who  are  parents,  pursue  the  course 
followed  by  the  parents,  as  described  above,  only 
for  a  single  term  of  three  months,  and  if  at  the 
end  of  that  period  they  do  not  feel  that  they  and 
their  children  are  abundantly  benefited,  then  I 
will  neither  venture  to  prophesy  again,  nor  be  a 
troublesome  reprover  of  their  negligence,  and  criminal 
neglect  of  their  offspring. 

4.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  church  to  give  her  counte- 
nance, support,  and  interest  to  the  school ;  and  if 
possible,  every  member  should  have  something  to  do 
with  it,  either  as  a  teacher  or  a  scholar. 

The  Library  should  be  revised,  enlarged  by  new 
books,  and  the  church  ought  to  do  it  cheerfully  and 
abundantly.     The  parents  ought  to  take  particular 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  291 

Whole  congregation  to  be  brought  in. 

pains  to  read  the  books  of  the  Library,  for  their  own 
improvement,  for  an  example  to  their  children,  and 
in  order  to  be  able  to  talk  with  their  children  about 
the  books  which  they  read.  Many  occasions  in 
reading  these  books  would  undoubtedly  arise,  by 
which  deep  and  lasting  impressions  might  be  made 
on  the  memory  and  on  the  heart.  Truths  might  be 
pressed  upon  the  conscience  under  circumstances 
which  would  cause  them  to  abide  in  consequence  of 
the  associations  with  which  they  are  indissolubly  con- 
nected. 

Besides,  if  the  church  were  to  do  her  duty,  almost 
all  of  the  congregation  would  be  connected  with  the 
Sabbath  School  in  some  relation  or  other.  In  some 
of  our  congregations  this  is  already  the  case.  I  could 
mention  several  village-congregations  in  New  Eng- 
land in  which  the  Sabbath  School  numbers  between 
five  and  six  hundred,  or  nearly  all  of  the  congrega- 
tion. These  are  the  most  interesting  schools  I  have 
ever  seen.  I  have  seen  a  class  of  old  ladies, — pro- 
bably all  over  fifty  years  of  age,  who  sat  down  to  the 
recitation  of  the  lesson  with  as  much  interest  as  any 
class  of  children  could.  I  do  not  intend  to  say  that 
all,  without  exception,  can  do  so.  Mothers  with  young 
children  cannot,  and  fathers  sometimes  cannot  be 
connected  with  the  Sabbath  School.  But  these  cases 
are  exceptions  to  the  rule,  when  I  say,  that  the 
church  and  congregation  can  profitably  belong  to  the 
school   How  often  do  we  hear  people  lamenting  that 


292       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Objections  to  this  course  considered. 

they  could  not  have  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  the  Sab- 
bath School  when  they  were  children  !  Do  they  for- 
get that  they  can  now  go,  and  enjoy  all  these  bene- 
fits !  Do  they  forget  that  the  Sabbath  School  would 
actually  do  them  more  good  now  than  when  they 
were  children?  But  it  is  hard  to  begin  now,  they 
cannot  bring  themselves  up  to  the  point  of  doing  it. 
I  ask,  if  it  be  so  hard  for  you,  who  profess  to  love 
the  Bible,  who  love  religion,  who  feel  your  need  of 
light  and  instruction,  if  it  be  so  hard  for  you  to  study 
the  Bible,  what  must  your  children  suffer  in  doing  it  1 
They  do  not  profess  to  love  the  Bible :  they  do  not 
feel  their  need  of  its  light  and  instructions, — and  yet 
you  feel  that  it  is  their  duty  to  go  to  the  Sabbath 
School.  May  I  ask  a  plain  question  1  Is  it  not  pride 
which  prevents  you  from  belonging  to  the  Sabbath 
School  ?  I  ask  it,  because  I  have  known  many  who 
wished  the  privilege  of  being  at  the  teachers'  meet- 
ing with  a  view  of  hearing  the  lesson  explained,  who 
could  not  be  induced  to  belong  to  the  School  itself. 

It  is  impossible  for  any  mind,  not  absolutely  un- 
balanced by  disease,  not  to  be  benefited  by  studying 
and  talking  about  the  word  of  God.  I  could  wish  to 
see  all  our  congregations  belonging  to  the  Sabbath 
School.  Good  rooms  should  be  provided,  and  the 
adult  classes,  by  all  means,  should  be  separated  from 
the  children.  It  is  from  negligence  of  this  simple 
rule  that  so  many  attempts  to  induce  the  whole  con- 
gregation to  unite  in  the  Sabbath  School  have  failed. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  293 

Conveniences  needed  for  this  plan.     Example  of  bad  influence  of  church. 

It  is  in  vain  to  try  to  have  all  in  the  same  room.  But 
different  rooms  can  be  provided,  the  adult  classes  can 
each  select  their  own  teacher,  and  the  object  so  de- 
sirable can  be  accomplished.  In  the  Tabernacle  in 
New- York,  they  have  a  room  for  each  adult  class 
separate  from  the  rest, — an  admirable  plan.  But 
you  can  never  expect  a  congregation  to  come  into  the 
system,  if  the  church  stands  aloof.  They  cannot  be 
induced  to  give  up  their  conversations,  and  their  rest- 
ing seasons,  if  the  people  of  God  refuse  to  do  it.  Few 
have  any  conception  of  the  sins  which  are  committed 
on  the  Sabbath  by  the  tongue.  I  was  once  acquainted 
with  a  devoted  Superintendent  who  had  one  of  the 
fullest  and  most  prosperous  schools.  One  Sabbath 
morning  he  went  out  to  get  in  the  wandering,  strag- 
gling boys  who  did  not  come  into  their  several  classes. 
He  found  two  groups  of  boys  standing  under  different 
horse-sheds,  listening  to  the  conversation  of  two 
groups  of  professors  of  religion.  On  coming  up  he 
found  them  in  quite  animated  conversation,  the  one 
discussing  the  price  of  wood,  and  the  other  computing 
the  prices  of  rye,  in  a  season  in  which  the  crops  had 
fallen  short!  These  were  members  of  the  church 
talking  together,  and  the  children  had  run  away  from 
their  Sabbath  School  to  listen  to  them !  When  the 
Superintendent  kindly  stated  these  facts  to  the  church, 
though  no  names  were  called,  these  individuals  were 
highly  offended.  Can  any  faithfulness  on  the  part 
of  the  Superintendent  or  teacher  cause  the  children 
25* 


294      THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Fifth  duty, — to  pray  for  conversion  of  school. 

to  love  the  school,  so  long  as  members  of  the  church 
do  thus  ? 

5.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  church  to  pray  and  labor 
for  the  immediate  conversion  of  the  children  in  the 
Sabbath  School. 

Perhaps  it  is  sometimes  the  case  that  the  church 
feel  that  if  the  teachers  were  Judges,  Rulers,  or  Minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel,  or  were  filling  some  high  and  re- 
sponsible station,  they  should  be  made  the  objects  of 
prayer ;  but  as  it  is,  they  are  only  teachers  in  the 
Sabbath  School,  and  it  is  of  little  consequence.  But 
do  not  forget  that  every  prayer  that  you  offer  for  the 
teacher,  is  a  prayer  for  the  salvation  of  your  child 
placed  under  his  care ;  that  the  truth  of  God  may 
impress  his  heart,  and  that  thereby  he  may  be  made 
wise  unto  eternal  life.  You  wish  that  your  child  may 
drink  in  the  pure  truth  and  in  right  proportions ; 
then  ask  God  that  the  teacher  may  have  wisdom  so 
to  teach  him.  Pray  that  he  may  be  a  pious  man,  a 
holy  man.  Arguments  from  the  wants  and  condition 
of  your  child  press  you  to  add  your  prayers  with 
those  of  the  teacher,  and  that  too  daily,  in  the  closet, 
at  the  family-altar,  and  especially  on  the  morning  of 
the  holy  Sabbath. 

The  Bible  and  our  own  observation  abundantly 
show  us  that  children  can  be  converted  at  a  very 
early  age.  Multitudes  of  such  cases  might  be  ad- 
duced. The  most  eminent  men  who  have  ever 
lived  for  God  and  for  the  salvation  of  the  world,  have 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  21)5 


Piety  in  the  young  beautiful. 


been  converted  in  the  morning  of  life.  Children  may 
thus  early  be  brought  in, — they  ought  to  be.  The 
church  ought  to  pray  for  it, — to  labor  for  it.  I  have 
more  than  once  had  the  pleasure  of  welcoming  to 
the  table  of  Jesus  Christ,  those  who  were  under 
twelve  years  of  age.  They  were  like  the  early, 
small  stars  of  evening, — very  small,  but  pure  and 
bright  and  beautiful.  They  held  on  their  way  too, 
gloriously.  I  have  not  half  the  fears  that  a  converted 
child  will  dishonour  religion,  that  I  have  that  the 
aged  sinner,  who  has  lived  in  the  iron  habits  of  sin 
for  half  a  century,  will  do  it.  With  him  it  is  the  work 
of  life  and  death  to  break  off  those  old  habits.  His 
thoughts,  wicked  and  vile,  will,  ever  and  anon,  flow 
back  into  the  old,  deep-worn  channels.  But  piety  in 
the  child  gushes  up  like  the  breaking  out  of  a  new 
spring,  making  its  own  new  channel,  growing,  and 
widening,  and  beautifying  as  it  flows.  The  Bible 
has  promised  that  the  time  shall  come,  when  the 
child  shall  die  an  hundred  years  old.  It  can  be 
brought  about  Every  church  must  aim  to  bring  it 
about  in  regard  to  the  children  committed  to  her, 
whom  she  places  in  the  Sabbath  School.  Most 
stupid,  negligent,  and  guilty  will  she  be,  if  she  does 
not  gird  herself  to  this  work.  Oh !  were  I  to  take 
my  choice  for  helpers  in  the  labors  of  the  kingdom 
of  Jesus  Christ,  I  would  rather  have  a  church  com- 
mitted to  me,  made  up  of  converted  children  from 
the  Sabbath  School,  and  thus  trained  up  for  the  ser- 


296  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Sixtli  duty,— duties  of  the  minister. 


vice  of  God,  than  to  have  a  church  of  a  thousand 
members,  formal,  stiff,  cold  and  barren  as  the  aged 
oak.  Blessed  is  the  man  who  shall  be  the  instrument 
of  the  conversion  of  a  single  child ;  he  adds  a  bright 
star  to  the  moral  heavens.  Here  must  we  raise  up 
our  pillars,  here  our  polished  stones,  here  our  strong 
men,  and  here  those  who,  on  seraph- wing,  will  hasten 
to  declare  the  name  and  love  of  Christ  to  the  very- 
ends  of  the  earth. 

6.  The  ministers  of  the  Gospel  should  make  the 
Sabbath  School  an  important  part  of  their  pastoral 
charge. 

Ministers  have  done  much  to  rear  up  and  sustain 
the  institution  of  the  Sabbath  School.  That  they 
have  not  done  more,  and  all  that  might  be  reasona- 
bly expected  of  them,  I  impute  in  part  to  the  pres- 
sure which  this  age  brings  upon  them,  and  partly  to 
the  fact  that  they  have  never  examined  to  see  pre- 
cisely on  what  ground  they  should  stand  in  regard  to 
it.  I  do  not  believe  any  deficiencies  on  their  part 
which  might  be  pointed  out,  are  the  result  of  de- 
sign. 

Almost  every  Sabbath  School  contains  hundreds 
of  children,  in  the  morning  of  their  being,  open  to 
the  best  impressions,  and  rapidly  forming  characters 
which  will  abide  with  them  forever.  These  hundreds 
of  immortal  beings  are  placed  in  the  hands  of  some 
thirty  or  forty  teachers, — the  best  probably  to  be  ob- 
tained :  but  all  the  minister  is  supposed  to  know  of 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  297 

Reasons  for  minister  to  make  it  a  part  of  pastoral  duties. 

them  is,  that  they  are  members  of  his  church,  and 
are  people  of  common  abilities.  1  ask  now,  if  he 
would  be  willing  to  have  as  many  adults  taken  from 
his  pastoral  charge,  and  once  a  week  instructed  in 
religion  by  those  of  whom  he  knows  nothing,  except 
that  they  are  professors  of  religion  ?  Would  he  be 
wise,  or  safe,  judicious  or  justifiable  in  so  doing  1  I 
think  not  But  are  not  these  children  as  liable  to  be 
led  wrong,  biassed  wrong  by  any  want  of  judgment 
or  piety  on  the  part  of  the  teachers,  as  the  adult 
part  of  the  congregation  would  be  ?  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  Pastor  ought  to  know,  intimately  know  who 
and  what  the  teachers  are,  how  they  teach,  what 
they  teach,  and  what  impressions  they  are  making. 
Each  teacher  has  some  six  or  eight  children  com- 
mitted to  him,  and  he  can  teach  them  and  form  their 
characters  as  no  other  human  being  can.  Ministers 
may  preach  well,  eloquently,  learnedly,  and  power- 
fully ;  but  in  the  pulpit,  they  reach  not  the  child.  All 
goes  over  him.  But  the  teacher  can  reach  him  and 
make  impressions  and  aid  in  forming  his  character 
every  Sabbath.  Were  it  only  for  the  safety  of  the 
individual  church,  the  minister  ought  to  become  deep- 
ly interested  in  the  Sabbath  School.  But  more.  Let 
the  teachers  be  neglected,  let  them  pick  up  know- 
ledge as  they  are  able  here  and  there,  let  them 
teach  error  and  feed  from  the  vine  of  Sodom,  and 
pluck  clusters  from  the  vineyard  of  Gomorrah,  and 
we  have  a  power  growing  up  which  is  irresistible. 


298  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Teachers  need  and  wish  the  aid  of  ministers. 

Our  churches  are  already  in  the  hands  of  Sabbath 
School  teachers.  They  give  character  and  create 
the  fashions  and  feelings  of  our  churches.  Let  them 
believe  and  go  wrong,  and  we  cherish  an  infant  Her- 
cules whose  club  will  shortly  be  used  in  beating  and 
killing  his  own  mother.  Teachers  must  be  taught, 
indoctrinated,  that  they  may  feel  that  the  ground  on 
which  they  tread  is  firm,  and  that  their  path  is 
through  light  and  under  sunshine.  If  our  teachers 
are  not  held  responsible  for  what  they  do  and  what 
they  teach,  to  the  Pastor  and  to  the  church,  woe  be 
to  the  hopes  of  stability  in  the  walls  of  our  Zion.  In 
order  to  meet  the  case,  the  minister  must  not  be  cold, 
formal,  indifferent,  but  his  heart  must  warm  over  the 
school  as  over  his  own  children.  The  safety  of  our 
churches,  their  stability,  permanency,  order,  purity, 
knowledge,  all,  under  God,  depend  upon  the  charac- 
ter of  our  Sabbath  Schools.  That  character  cannot 
be  what  it  should  and  must  be,  if  there  is  any  defi- 
ciency on  the  part  of  our  ministers. 

Teachers  are  men, — good  men,  I  will  suppose, — 
but  men  who  want  improving,  enlightening,  and  in- 
structing. They  are  ready  to  admit  this.  Left  to 
themselves,  they  grow  discouraged,  and  droop.  They 
do  as  well  as  they  can.  The  minister  and  the  church 
stand  off,  they  receive  no  countenance,  no  encourage- 
ment, no  sympathy.  They  bring  such  explanations 
of  Scripture  as  their  limited  means  will  allow,  and 
thus  each  one  explaining  and  teaching  in  his  own 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  299 

Can  have  time. 

way,  they  plod  on  from  year  to  year.  Is  this  right  1 
Ought  not  the  minister  to  meet  his  teachers  once  a 
week  as  a  father, — feel  that  they  are  colleagues  with 
him  in  aiding  him  to  take  care  of  the  lambs, — in- 
struct them  in  the  lesson  which  they  are  to  teach  the 
ensuing  Sabbath,  giving  them  his  warm  sympathy 
and  co-operation  \  Ought  not  the  Sabbath  School  to 
be  made  an  integral  and  an  important  part  of  his 
pastoral  charge,  so  that  the  minister  shall  feel  that 
he  is  to  be  the  guide  of  the  teachers,  and  that  he  is 
to  keep  the  church  awake  and  alive  to  the  interests 
of  the  school, — that  he  is  to  do  what  he  can,  to 
create  an  interest  in  the  parents,  in  the  congregation, 
and  in  all  classes  of  his  charge,  so  that  it  shall  be 
cherished  by  all  as  the  dearest  boon  committed  to 
the  church  !  If  it  is  said  that  he  has  not  time  for  all 
this,  I  answer,  it  be  true ; — but  he  must  take  time. 
There  is  no  part  of  his  work  that  is  more  important 
than  this.  He  had  better  have  fewer  weekly  meet- 
ings, make  fewer  pastoral  visits,  than  to  neglect  the 
School. 

I  cannot  dismiss  this  topic  without  once  more  urging 
that  the  Pastor  meet  his  teachers  once  a  week,  and 
instruct  them  in  the  lesson.  They  would  gladly  have 
him  the  fountain  whence  they  draw  their  knowledge, 
and  by  him  they  are  willing  to  have  their  opinions 
shaped.  They  feel,  too,  their  need  of  mental  discipline, 
their  poverty  of  thought  or  illustration,  and  especially, 
they  feel  their  inability  to  obtain   and  grasp  those 


300  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Ministers  should  meet  teachers  weekly. 

great  principles  and  views  of  the  whole  plan  of  re- 
demption which  are  so  desirable,  and  which,  once 
obtained,  give  a  religious  teacher  such  power.  Min- 
isters do  not  get  this  great  system  fully  before  the 
mind  till  after  years  of  study.  Is  it  any  wonder  that 
teachers  cannot?  The  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  the 
great  foundation-stones  of  the  moral  temple,  are  what 
they  want  to  measure  and  examine,  to  lay  their 
hands  upon,  to  rest  their  hopes  upon,  and  by  which 
they  wish  to  teach  better.  The  Pastor  only  can 
thus  instruct  them. 

By  meeting  the  teachers  weekly,  too,  the  minister 
would  preach  better !  And  how  ?  Because  he  would 
be  continually  studying  to  simplify  truth,  and  thought, 
and  language,  so  that  the  children  may  understand 
what  is  taught  them.  In  this  way  he  will  preach 
with  more  simplicity,  more  nature,  more  ease,  more 
directness,  and  more  illustration.  So  great  a  part 
of  his  instructions  will  not  go  over  the  heads  of  his 
hearers. 

I  plead  for  this  close  connexion  between  Pastor  and 
school,  once  more,  because  it  will  create  a  strong,  a 
sweet,  and  a  delightful  tie  between  the  Pastor  and 
his  flock.  The  children  will  feel  that  their  privileges 
are  great,  because  the  minister  of  God  is  so  frequently 
present,  and  takes  so  deep  an  interest  in  the  school. 
The  teachers  feel  that  they  labor  not  in  vain ;  and 
that  however  discouraging  their  prospects  may  be, 
there  is  one  heart  that  will  never  grow  cold,  never  lose 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  301 


Conclusion. 


its  sympathy  for  them.  The  parents  will  feel  that  the 
piety  and  the  intelligence  of  the  church  are  enlisted 
in  behalf  of  their  children,  and  will  be  encouraged  to 
co-operate.  The  church  will  feel  that  she  must  go  with 
her  leader,  and  will  gather  her  sympathies  around 
the  vineyard  of  the  Lord ;  and  the  minister  himself 
will  feel  that  when  no  success  attends  his  labors,  he 
has  a  cohort  in  his  church,  who,  by  experience,  have 
learned  what  it  is  to  labor  in  vain,  and  who  will  not 
be  backward  to  sympathise  with  him.  And  when  the 
holy  man  of  God  dies,  there  will  be  tears  from  the 
eyes  of  those  in  the  Sabbath  School  room  who  have 
looked  upon  him  as  their  best  friend. 
26 


CHAPTER  XL 


ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   FAITHFULNESS. 

Discouragements  are  inseparable  from  every  at- 
tempt at  being  useful.  I  had  thought  of  devoting 
this  chapter  to  the  consideration  of  those  which 
attend  the  faithful  teacher  in  the  Sabbath  School. 
But  they  need  not  be  pointed  out,  nor  dwelt  upon. 
They  will  come  of  their  own  accord ;  but  the  wisest 
way  is  to  think  as  little  of  them  as  possible,  and  to 
resolve  that  they  shall  never  retard  or  stop  our  efforts. 
The  world  is  at  war  with  the  kingdom  of  holiness, 
and  in  whatever  shape  effort  is  made  to  reclaim  it 
from  the  dominion  of  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the 
air,  there  will  be  obstacles  and  difficulties.  Ever 
since  the  first  promise  that  the  seed  of  the  woman 
should  crush  the  serpent's  head,  it  has  been  so.  It  is 
a  part  of  the  moral  discipline  through  which  the 
people  of  God  must  pass.  No  class  of  active,  de- 
voted Christians  has  ever  met  with  so  much  opposi- 
tion, as  did  the  Apostles  and  early  Christians.     But 

302 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  303 

Persecution  of  the  Apostles. 

they  neither  stopped  nor  turned  aside  for  such  oppo- 
sition. 

"  About  one  hundred  and  twenty  disciples,  after  the 
death  of  their  master,  were  gathered  together  for 
prayer,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  upon  them ; 
and  then  they  all  spake  with  tongues,  and  preached 
the  Gospel  to  the  people  of  many  different  languages. 
The  consequence  was  a  great  excitement :  a  crowd 
collected ;  some  mocked,  and  then  Peter  preached  to 
them  a  sermon,  with  an  application,  and  three  thou- 
sand were  converted.  Then  they  had  time  enough 
for  prayer  and  religious  duties,  and  money  enough  for 
benevolent  purposes ;  for  each  "  sold  his  possessions, 
and  parted  them  to  all  men  as  every  man  had  need, 
and  continued  daily  with  one  accord  in  the  temple." 
Then  the  lame  man  was  healed ;  a  crowd  collected ; 
Peter  preached  another  sermon  with  an  application, 
and  five  thousand  were  converted.  The  High  Priest 
and  nobles  are  alarmed  and  indignant  at  all  this  ex- 
citement ;  they  seize  Peter  and  John,  and  demand  of 
them  by  what  authority  they  did  so ;  and  then  Peter 
preached  the  Gospel  faithfully  to  the  High  Priest  and 
nobles.  The  Apostles  are  commanded  to  hold  their 
peace,  are  threatened  and  dismissed ;  and  they  imme- 
diately return  to  their  work  of  preaching  to  the  peo- 
ple. Again  they  are  seized  and  imprisoned ;  but  an 
angel  releases  them,  and  they  continue  to  preach.  A 
third  time  they  are  taken  and  beaten ;  but  they  re- 
joice that  they  are  counted  worthy  to  suffer ;  and 


304  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER, 

Supposed  consultation. 

without  delay  resume  their  work.  The  excitement 
spreads  and  increases,  Jerusalem  is  filled  with  their 
doctrine,  the  opposers  are  in  great  perplexity  what 
measures  to  take  to  stop  it;  till  at  length,  in  a 
paroxysm  of  popular  fury,  Stephen  is  seized  and 
stoned  to  death. 

Here  we  may  suppose  there  was  a  pause.  The 
disciples  probably  met  to  consider  what  should  be 
done,  and  to  pray  for  divine  guidance.  Imagine  them 
assembled,  many  countenances  indicating  anxiety  and 
alarm.  At  length  one  speaks :  '  Oh  !  the  torrents  of 
ridicule  with  which  we  are  assailed !  How  shall  we 
ever  stand  before  it  ?  Another  remarks,  '  I  can  bear 
the  ridicule  very  well ;  but  they  tell  such  falsehoods 
about  us,  they  will  utterly  ruin  our  reputation,  and 
destroy  all  our  influence  among  the  people !'  A  third 
feels  it  most  deeply  that  they  should  be  hated  for  the 
good  which  they  were  doing,  and  that  these  false- 
hoods are  invented  to  make  them  odious  on  account 
of  their  usefulness.  A  fourth  cannot  bear  the  thought 
of  being  charged  with  wrong  motives,  and  having  all 
his  efforts  charged  to  the  desire  of  building  up  a  party. 
A  fifth  feels  himself  disheartened  because  their  success 
is  principally  confined  to  the  poor,  that  none  of  the 
great,  and  the  rich,  the  priests  and  nobles,  lend  them 
their  name  and  influence,  but  do  all  in  their  power 
to  crowd  them  down.  A  sixth  is  disturbed  that  there 
should  be  so  much  noise  and  excitement,  such  a 
tumult  that  there  can  be  no  living  in  the  city,  if 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  305 

The  true  spirit  of  primitive  Christianity.  Reasons  for  faithfulness. 

these  efforts  should  go  on.  Another  regrets  the  dis- 
union of  families  occasioned  by  their  preaching,  and 
another  points  to  the  blood  of  Stephen,  and  hints  at 
a  little  more  prudence,  lest  they  should  all  be  massa- 
cred together. 

Now  what  shall  they  do  in  all  this  trouble  ?  They 
kneel  down  and  pray  together;  they  continue  for 
some  time  earnestly  engaged  in  the  exercise ;  and  the 
clouds  begin  to  clear  away,  the  heaviness  is  removed 
from  their  heart,  they  are  in  an  entirely  different 
atmosphere.  Now  one  and  another  begin  to  recol- 
lect the  words  of  Christ,  how  he  had  foretold  that  all 
this  would  happen  in  just  this  manner ; — how  he  had 
commanded,  warned,  and  encouraged  them;  pro- 
mised them  a  mansion  in  his  Father's  house ;  he  had 
gone  to  prepare  a  place  for  them,  and  send  the  Com- 
forter to  be  with  them  till  his  return.  And  now  they 
have  only  to  do  their  duty,  and  leave  the  conse- 
quences with  their  Master.  They  see  things  in  an 
entirely  different  light,  their  despondency  is  all  gone ; 
they  go  again  to  their  work  with  more  resolution  and 
earnestness  than  ever. 

Such  was  the  spirit  of  primitive  Christianity ;  this 
is  the  spirit  that  should  animate  us  in  all  our  well- 
directed  efforts  for  the  salvation  of  the  soul." 

Let  those  who  engage  in  teaching  and  raising  up 
Sabbath  Schools,  meet  opposition,  and  discourage- 
ments in  this  way,  and  the  cause  of  Jesus  Christ  can 
never  suffer  from  the  efforts  of  men. 
26* 


306  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


First  reason,— personal  benefit  of  teachers. 

I  must  now  proceed,  briefly  to  mention  a  few  mo- 
tives which  God,  in  his  providence,  holds  out  to  the 
Sabbath  School  teacher  to  be  faithful  and  untiring 
in  the  cause  in  which  he  has  engaged. 

1.  The  teacher  will  himself  receive  benefit  in  pro- 
portion to  his  faithfulness. 

The  providence  of  God  seems  to  design  the  Sab- 
bath School  to  be  the  place  where  the  teacher  shall 
have  all  his  Christian  graces  continually  called  out 
and  exercised.  The  man  who  is  faithful  in  his  sta- 
tion as  a  Sabbath  School  teacher,  can  hardly  fail  of 
having  his  Christian  character  improved. 

Are  you  naturally  proud  ?  Who  is  not  ?  You  must 
here  associate  with  ignorance,  stupidity,  prejudice, 
and  it  may  be,  with  filth.  Like  your  Master,  you 
must  associate  with  the  poor.  Your  intellect  must 
be  exercised  by  coming  down  to  the  capacity  of  the 
child.  You  must  visit  the  poor,  listen  to  their  tales 
of  sorrow,  sympathize  with  their  condition,  put  your- 
self, in  some  measure,  on  their  level,  and  encounter 
any  prejudices,  however  vulgar,  which  they  may  en- 
tertain. Can  this  be  done  without  calling  the  grace 
of  humility  somewhat  into  exercise  ? 

Are  you  naturally  selfish  ?  You  must  go  to  your 
school,  and  visit  the  families,  at  the  time  appointed, 
let  the  weather  be  what  it  may,  your  own  ease  and 
comfort  making  what  demands  they  may ;  you  must 
enter  the  dwellings  of  sorrow,  of  woe,  of  wretched- 
ness:   you   must   forego   seasons   of  visiting,  social 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  307 

Traits  of  character  cultivated  by  teaching. 

interviews  with  friends,  leisure  for  reading,  thinking, 
and  on  the  Sabbath  especially,  even  a  part  of  your 
hours  of  secret  meditation  and  devotion  in  the  closet. 
It  is  a  constant  call  for  self-denial ;  and  you  cannot  be 
happy  without  its  exercise. 

Do  you  in  any  measure  lack  patience  ?  You  will 
meet  with  the  stupid  and  the  dull,  whom  you  must 
instruct ;  with  the  stiff  necked  and  the  stubborn,  with 
whom  you  must  bear  and  forbear ;  with  ingratitude 
which  at  times  seems  too  much  for  poor  human 
nature  to  bear.  You  will  have  to  follow  your 
scholars  from  week  to  week — sometimes  discovering 
that  they  are  wearied  with  your  teachings,  sometimes 
that  they  would  gladly  get  away  if  they  could.  Can 
you  do  all  this,  and  endure  all  this,  without  a 
patience  constantly  increasing  1 

'Are  condescension,  affability,  meekness,  gentle- 
ness, goodness,  long-suffering,  Christian  love  that 
hopeth  all  things,  endureth  all  things,  required? 
They  are  all  called  into  daily  exercise,  and  all,  if 
asked  of  the  Giver  of  all  goodness,  will  freely  be 
given,  and  abundantly  strengthened  and  increased, 
by  the  blessed  spirit  of  consolation,  until  every  pre- 
cious stone  in  the  diadem  of  Christian  graces  be  set 
in  its  place,  and  burnished,  and  made  fit,  for  Christ's 
sake,  to  be  added  to  those  which  evermore  shall  burn 
and  blaze  around  the  throne,  and  brighten  and 
brighten,  throughout  eternity,  in  the  pure  and  holy 
splendors  of  the  glory  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.' 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Second  reason,— thanks  of  the  scholars  in  after  life. 

Thus,  they  "  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness 
of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  right- 
eousness, as  the  stars  forever  and  ever." 

2.  The  faithful  teacher  will  have  the  thanks  of 
his  scholars  in  after  life. 

Few  teachers  are  aware  how  long  they  are  re- 
membered, and,  if  faithful,  with  how  much  affection, 
by  their  scholars.  More  than  twenty  years  ago,  a 
lady,  in  a  destitute  neighborhood,  opened  in  her  own 
house,  what  she  called  a  Sabbath  School.  The  Bible 
and  the  catechism  were  recited  by  quite  a  number 
of  children  who  united  in  the  school.  This  teacher 
was  a  mother,  and  often  has  been  known  to  hear 
thirty  or  forty  recitations  with  an  infant  in  her  arms. 
These  self-denying  labors  were  not  overlooked  by  the 
Great  Head  of  the  church.  Those  who  attended 
her  school  grew  up  altogether  unlike  others  in  the 
same  neighborhood,  who  did  not  attend.  The  mould- 
ing of  their  minds  and  the  forming  of  their  charac- 
ters seem  to  have  been  done  by  her,  and  that  too,  in 
some  instances,  when  the  almost  omnipotent  example 
of  parents  was  directly  opposed  to  her  influence. 
Three  of  her  scholars  were  the  daughters  of  profane 
and  intemperate  parents.  Such  was  the  hold  which 
this  devoted  teacher  obtained  over  their  affections  and 
confidence,  that  she  rescued  them  from  the  ruinous 
influence  of  these  parents,  and  trained  them  to  be 
ornaments  in  society.  They  were  respectably  settled 
in  life. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  309 

Interesting  case  of  a  solitary  teacher. 

Several  of  her  scholars  who  had  removed  to  other 
places,  and  who  had  grown  out  of  her  recollection, 
have  been  known  to  return  and  extend  the  warm 
hand  of  greeting,  and  hail  her  as  their  former 
teacher  and  friend. 

One  of  her  pupils  who  had  taken  up  her  residence 
in  a  new  and  remote  section  of  the  State,  was  in- 
duced, by  a  remembrance  of  the  example  and  in- 
fluence of  this  teacher,  to  go  and  do  likewise.  She 
also  collected  children  around  her,  and  taught  them 
the  things  which  pertain  to  their  eternal  welfare. 

One  scholar  while  on  her  death-bed  sent  a  mes- 
senger from  the  town  in  which  she  was  residing,  to 
request  this  teacher  to  come  and  see  her.  She  was 
unable  to  go ;  but  just  as  the  young  lady  was  going 
into  eternity,  leaning  upon  the  staff  of  the  Redeemer, 
she  left  a  special  message  for  her  teacher :  "  Tell  her 
that  her  instructions  in  that  little  Sabbath  School 
were  blessed  to  the  salvation  of  my  soul."  Such  was 
the  influence  of  one  teacher,  and  she  a  mother  at  the 
head  of  a  family !  Such  were  the  rewards  which 
she  lived  to  receive.  All  may  not  see  the  results  of 
their  labors  so  clearly.  Sometimes,  for  wise  reasons, 
the  teacher  will  not  be  permitted  to  see  the  results, 
and  to  hear  the  offerings  of  the  grateful  scholar  in 
this  life.  But  the  word  of  God  shall  not  return  to 
him  void.  The  seed  may  seem  to  die ;  but  it  will,  in 
God's  own  time,  spring  up,  and  bear  fruit  unto  eter- 
nal life.     As  an  illustration  of  this,  I  have  often  been 


310  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Henry  Marty n. 


affected  at  an  incident  connected  with  Henry  Mar- 
tyn.     If  I  mistake  not,  my  reader  will  be  also. 

Some  years  since  an  English  gentleman  spent 
several  weeks  at  Shiraz,  Persia.  He  attended  a 
public  dinner  with  a  party  of  Persians,  among  whom 
was  one  who  took  but  little  part  in  the  conversation. 
He  was  below  middle-age,  serious,  and  mild  in  counte- 
nance. His  name  was  Mahomed  Rahem.  In  the 
course  of  a  religious  conversation,  the  Englishman 
expressed  himself  with  some  levity ;  at  which  Ma- 
homed fixed  his  eyes  upon  him  with  such  a  look  of 
surprise,  regret,  and  reproof,  as  reached  his  very  soul. 
Upon  inquiry,  the  gentleman  found  that  he  had  been 
educated  as  a  Mollah,  (Priest,)  though  he  had  never 
officiated ;  that  he  was  much  respected,  was  learned, 
retired  in  his  habits,  and  was  drawn  out  to  attend 
that  party  only  by  the  expectation  of  meeting  an 
Englishman — to  whose  nation  and  language  he  was 
much  attached.  In  a  subsequent  interview,  Mahomed 
Rahem  declared  himself  a  Christian,  and  gave  the 
following  account  of  the  happy  change  in  his  views 
and  feelings. 

"  In  the  year  1223  (of  the  Hejira)  there  came  to 
this  city  an  Englishman,  who  taught  the  religion  of 
Christ  with  a  boldness  hitherto  unparalleled  in  Per- 
sia, in  the  midst  of  much  scorn  and  ill-treatment  from 
our  Mollahs,  as  well  as  the  rabble.  He  was  a  beard- 
less youth,  and  evidently  enfeebled  by  disease.  He 
dwelt  among  us  for  more  than  a  year.     I  was  then  a 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  311 

The  Persian  Mollah's  conversion. 

decided  enemy  to  Infidels,  as  the  Christians  are  termed 
by  the  followers  of  Mahomet;  and  I  visited  this 
teacher  of  the  despised  sect,  with  the  declared  object 
of  treating  him  with  scorn,  and  exposing  his  doctrines 
to  contempt.  Although  I  persevered  for  some  time 
in  this  behavior  toward  him,  I  found  that  every  in- 
terview not  only  increased  my  respect  for  the  indi- 
vidual, but  diminished  my  confidence  in  the  faith  in 
which  I  was  educated.  His  extreme  forbearance 
towards  his  opponents, — the  calm  and  yet  convincing 
manner  in  which  he  exposed  the  fallacies  and  sophis- 
tries by  which  he  was  assailed,  (for  he  spoke  Persian 
excellently,)  gradually  inclined  me  to  listen  to  his 
arguments,  to  enquire  dispassionately  into  the  subject 
of  them,  and  finally  to  read  a  tract  which  he  had 
written  in  reply  to  a  defence  of  Islamism  by  our 
Chief  Mollahs.  Need  I  detain  you  longer?  The 
result  of  my  examination  was  a  conviction  that  the 
young  disputant  was  right.  Shame,  or  rather  fear, 
withheld  me  from  avowing  this  opinion.  I  even 
avoided  the  society  of  the  Christian  teacher,  though 
he  remained  in  the  city  so  long.  Just  before  he  quit- 
ted Shiraz,  I  could  not  refrain  from  paying  him  a 
farewell  visit  Our  conversation — the  memory  of  it 
will  never  fade  from  the  tablet  of  my  mind — sealed 
my  conversion.  He  gave  me  a  book — it  has  ever 
been  my  constant  companion — the  study  of  it  has 
formed  my  most  delightful  occupation — its  contents 
have  often  consoled'  me."     Upon  this,  he  put  into 


312  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Third  reason,— bestow  mercy  upon  the  needy. 

his  hands  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  in  Persian. 
On  one  of  the  blank  leaves  was  written — "  There  is 
joy  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth. — 
Henry  Martyn." 

3.  The  faithful  teacher  will  have  the  consciousness 
of  carrying  light,  and  hope,  and  mercy  into  many 
families  where  they  would  otherwise  he  excluded. 

The  faithful  teacher  will  be  a  blessing  to  all, — the 
rich  as  well  as  the  poor.  But  the  greater  part  of 
this  world  are  poor  ;  and  the  Gospel  is  emphatically- 
designed  for  the  poor.  Every  ray  of  light  which  you 
carry  into  the  dark  bosom,  cheers,  elevates,  and 
blesses.  Every  family  with  whom  you  come  in  con- 
tact, you  can  aid,  you  can  cheer,  you  can  comfort. 
And  mercy  too,  the  richest  mercy  of  God,  can  by  you 
be  conveyed  to  the  heart  over  which  none  that  is  mere- 
ly earthly  can  shed  her  beams.  Let  a  few  teachers  meet, 
who  have  been  faithful  a  few  years,  and  let  them  tell 
over  the  scenes  through  which  they  have  passed,  and 
your  heart  would  not  only  ache  over  the  misery 
which  sin  every  where  produces,  but  it  would  also 
rejoice  at  the  power  which  the  teacher  has  of  doing 
good.  I  should  like  to  mention  examples,  did  circum- 
stances allow  it ;  but  I  may  be  allowed  to  select  a 
single  instance  of  the  results  of  the  system,  out 
of  scores  of  examples  at  hand,  all  of  which  are 
equally  interesting.  This  little  scene  took  place  in 
Europe. 

"  At  the  foot  of  a  lofty  hill,  crowned  to  the  sum- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  313 

Affecting  scene  in  Europe. 

mit  with  the  richest  verdure,  peeped  out  from  among 
encircling  bush-wood  and  straggling  elms,  a  miserable 
mud  cabin.  A  streak  of  smoke  rolling  up  through 
the  green  trees,  was  the  only  sign  that  met  my  eye 
of  its  being  inhabited.  The  sun  was  up,  and  over 
the  deep  blue  heavens  the  thin  cloud  lay  sleeping. 
It  was  the  hour  between  sunrise  and  the  full  blaze 
of  day.  A  stillness  seemed  to  lie  around  the  spot, 
and  I  felt  an  indescribable  sensation  creep  over  me  as 
I  drew  near  the  house  of  mourning.  I  paused  at  the 
entrance.  A  low,  murmuring  kind  of  sound  stole 
upon  my  ear,  and  again  all  was  hushed.  The  apart- 
ment on  the  threshold  of  which  I  now  stood  was  one 
of  the  meanest  construction.  It  was  without  a  single 
piece  of  furniture  that  deserved  the  name.  In  one 
corner  of  it  a  dead  body  lay  stretched  out,  very 
slightly  covered  with  a  tattered  coat,  and  a  cold  kind 
of  horrible  feeling  crept  through  my  very  soul,  and  I 
should  probably  have  shrunk  away  from  any  further 
investigation,  if  I  had  not  been  suddenly  arrested  by 
a  soft,  sweet  voice,  mingled  with  a  low  groan,  some- 
what like  a  death-rattle,  that  seemed  to  issue  from 
the  same  apartment.  I  turned  my  head  around  and 
beheld  a  sight  that  chained  me,  as  if  by  magic,  to 
the  ground.  It  was  heart-thrilling  to  behold  it.  On 
a  bundle  of  straw,  a  woman  somewhat  in  years  lay 
apparently  in  the  agonies  of  death.  Near  her  head 
hung,  reclining  in  deep  sorrow,  a  beautiful  little  half- 
naked  child.  On  one  side  a  lovely  girl,  about  thir 
27 


314        THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Fourth  reason,— the  system  will  benefit  the  world 

teen  years  of  age,  knelt ; — a  Bible  clasped  in  her  thin, 
slender  hands,  with  which  she  was  endeavoring  to 
comfort  her  dying  mother!  I  instantly  recognized 
them, — two  of  my  Sabbath  School  children !  The 
meeting  was  affecting.  They  had  been  without  food 
for  some  days.  The  mother  died  the  next  day  in 
the  triumphs  of  that  faith  which  her  little  daughter 
taught  her  out  of  the  Bible.  The  girls  grew  up  to 
be  respectable  members  of  society,  and  one  of  them 
has  been  a  teacher  in  a  Sabbath  School  for  a  num- 
ber of  years." 

4.  It  is  an  encouragement  to  be  faithful,  that  you 
are  engaged  in  a  system  of  usefulness  by  which  the 
ivhole  world  is  to  be  benefited. 

There  is  something  disheartening  to  work  alone, 
and  to  feel  that  you  have  not  any  one  to  sympathize 
in  your  trials  and  difficulties.  It  is  not  thus  with  the 
Sabbath  School  teacher.  He  can  hardly  go  to  any 
part  of  the  wide  world,  without  finding  fellow-laborers. 
And  the  system,  improved  by  the  experience  and  the 
prayers  of  God's  people,  will  yet  reach  every  tribe 
of  men  under  heaven,  and  become  one  of  the  most 
efficient  means  in  the  hands  of  the  church  by  which 
to  fill  the  earth  with  the  salvation  of  the  Gospel. 
How  soon  would  the  Sabbath  School  cause  the  Sab- 
bath to  be  sanctified  and  hallowed  through  the  world ! 
How  soon  would  it  do  that  for  slavery  which  nothing 
has  as  yet  done,  or  is  soon  likely  to  do,  in  this  land ! 
How  soon  would  it  redeem  a  community  so  that  our 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  315 

Examination  of  Sabbath  Schools  in  the  Society  Islands. 

prisons  would  be  almost  entirely  empty  !  Mark  the 
following  testimony  of  the  Chaplain  to  the  great  State 
Prison  at  Sing-Sing,  (New  York.)  "  I  have  lately 
made  pretty  thorough  inquiry  among  the  convicts 
here,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  who,  and  how  many, 
have  ever  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  Sabbath 
School.  The  result  is,  that  out  of  more  than  jive 
hundred  convicts,  not  one  has  been  found  who  has 
ever  been,  for  any  considerable  time,  a  regular  mem- 
ber of  a  Sabbath  School ;  and  not  more  than  two  or 
three,  who  have  ever  attended  such  a  school  at  all." 
Most  of  the  missionaries  of  the  present  day  were 
faithful  and  indefatigable  teachers  in  the  Sabbath 
School  at  home.  The  consequence  has  been  that 
they  have  uniformly  introduced  the  system  into  the 
heathen  countries  where  they  have  gone.  Those 
from  London  early  introduced  it  into  the  Society 
Islands.  It  is  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Ellis,  that  the 
Sabbath  School  is  a  vital  principle  in  their  system 
of  operations,  and  that  God  has  so  abundantly  blessed 
them,  that  their  schools  are  now  almost  wholly  taught 
by  those  who  were  formerly  scholars.  '  Often  has 
my  heart  rejoiced  to  see,  early  on  the  Sabbath  morn- 
ing, the  little  Islanders  running  to  school  at  the  sound 
of  the  iron  suspended  from  a  cocoa-nut  tree,  and 
struck  by  a  stone,  which  told  them  that  the  hour  for 
instruction  had  come, — often  when  the  second  sum- 
mons from  this  substitute  for  a  bell  intimated  that 
public  worship  was  about  to  commence,  have  I  heard 


316  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  premium. 

their  voices  mingling  in  sweet  melody  to  the  Savior's 
praise, — then  arranged  to  attend  the  several  places 
of  worship,  with  their  clean  cheerful  faces,  their  neat 
attire,  made  from  the  products  of  the  islands,  each 
with  a  little  basket  in  one  hand,  and  in  the  other 
their  books, — when  the  service  began  I  have  observed 
them  quiet  in  prayer, — attentive  to  the  discourse,  and 
ready  on  their  return  to  school  to  meet  the  questions 
of  their  teachers  from  the  sermon  just  heard,  with 
intelligent -and  appropriate  answers,  I  have  been  un- 
feignedly  thankful  to  God,  and  delighted  with  the  in- 
fluence of  these  nurseries  for  his  church. 

Here  also  they  hold  their  Sunday  School  Anniver- 
saries. When  a  deputation  from  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety were  there,  (Huahine,)  more  than  1200  adults 
and  350  children  were  present  on  such  an  occasion ; 
— the  scholars  were  examined,  and  indications  of  in- 
tellect were  afforded  which  showed,  not  that  mind, 
but  cultivation  was  required.  They  acquitted  them- 
selves most  creditably,  and  showed  their  acquaintance 
with  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion  to  the 
surprise  and  gratification  of  all.  Nor  could  their  neat 
appearance  escape  notice.  After  whole  chapters, 
portions  of  catechism,  and  various  hymns,  had  been 
recited,  some  books  as  rewards  were  distributed, 
which  added  not  a  little  to  the  interest  of  the  occa- 
sion. Particularly  in  the  instance  of  one  scholar,  a 
boy,  who,  for  his  diligence  and  good  conduct,  received 
the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew  bound  in  morocco.    From 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  317 

The  poor  mother's  sorrow.  Fifth  reason, — scholars  will  soon  be  fellow-laborers. 

amidst  the  admiring  multitude  stepped  forth  this 
child:  with  beating  heart  and  smiling  face,  he  reached 
forth  his  hand  to  take  the  book,  put  it  into  his  bosom, 
and  could  hardly  return  to  his  seat,  his  little  heart 
was  so  full  of  joy.  It  was  a  scene  in  which  it  was 
hard  to  tell  whether  children  or  parents  shared  the 
most  pleasure;  —  but  there  was  one  present, — a 
mother, — in  whose  sad  countenance  was  depicted  the 
deepest  grief,  now  suppressed  by  covering  her  face 
with  a  cloth,  and  wringing  her  hands  amidst  heavy 
sighing  and  sobbing,  till  overcome  by  the  emotions  of 
her  soul,  it  burst  forth  in  touching  exclamations. 
"Oh,  that  God  had  sooner  taken  away  our  hard 
hearts !  Oh,  that  the  light  of  his  word  had  sooner 
come  to  these  islands, — then  my  poor,  poor  child  had 
not  been  gone, — she  too  might  have  been  here  to- 
day !"  This  woman  once  had  a  daughter,  and  had 
offered  her  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  idols  of  the  islands, 
previous  to  the  Gospel  being  made  known  to  them 
by  the  missionaries." 

5.  You  are  encouraged  to  be  faithful,  because  in 
a  short  time  those  whom  you  instruct  will  become 
fellow-laborers  with  you  in  the  cause  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  best  teachers  in  our  schools  are  those  who 
were  educated  in  the  Sabbath  School.  They  proba- 
bly remember  their  own  modes  of  conceiving  of  truth, 
tin  ir  difficulties  and  perplexities,  besides,  they  have  a 
kind  of  tact  which  a  long  acquaintance  would  natural- 
ly give  them.  We  hope  the  time  is  near  when  we  shall 
27* 


318  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Interesting  narrative. 

have  no  teachers  but  those  of  this  description.  But 
what  is  peculiarly  encouraging,  we  do  not  have  to 
wait  till  the  child  is  matured  sufficiently  to  become  a 
teacher.  As  soon  as  he  is  converted  to  God,  he  at 
once  becomes  a  little  laborer  in  the  vineyard.  I  have 
marked  a  multitude  of  instances  which  might  be  ad- 
duced to  illustrate  this  point, — instances,  in  which  a 
child  had  been  the  means  of  leading  parents,  friends, 
and  companions,  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Savior.  In 
looking  over  these  cases, — all  of  which  are  well 
authenticated, — I  am  at  a  loss  which  to  select.  I  can 
take  but  a  single  case, — one  that  was  pointed  out  to 
me  by  a  most  esteemed  friend,  who,  as  I  suppose,  was 
the  writer  of  the  interesting  narrative.  Should  my 
conjecture  be  right,  I  shall  have  the  strongest  assu- 
rance that  there  is  nothing  like  exaggeration  in  the 
account.  Perhaps  every  reader  could  recite  narra- 
tives of  the  labors  of  these  young  disciples  of  Christ, 
equally  interesting,  and  equally  a  reproof  to  those 
who  have  a  name  to  live,  while  they  are  dead. 

1  Some  years  since  a  Superintendent  was  walking 
out  at  the  edge  of  evening,  in  one  of  the  pleasant 
villages  of  Massachusetts.  By  some  providence  he 
turned  out  of  his  accustomed  walk,  and  was  accosted 
by  a  child,  who  inquired  if  he  were  not  a  Sabbath 
School  teacher.  On  being  told  that  he  was,  she 
sighed,  and  said  that  she  had  long  been  wishing  to  go 
to  the  school,  but  that  her  parents  forbade  her.  On 
being  asked  the  reason  of  their  objections,  she  wept 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  310 

The  cruel  father.  Little  Jane's  parents. 

profusely,  said  that  her  father  was  intemperate,  and 
her  mother  so  wicked,  that  when  she  asked  to  go  to 
the  Sabbath  School,  they  would  chastise  her  for  it, 
and  make  her  work  all  the  Sabbath. 

"  Oh !  if  my  parents  were  willing,  how  glad  I 
should  be  !" 

"  Will  you  direct  me,  my  child,  to  your  home  1  I 
will  have  some  conversation  with  your  parents  re- 
specting your  coming  to  the  school." 

"  O  yes,  and  will  thank  you  too." 

On  entering  this  dwelling,  I  breathed  forth  a  prayer 
to  God  that  my  visit  to  this  family  might  be  long  re- 
membered by  me,  and  by  them.  The  child  intro- 
duced me  as  one  of  the  Sabbath  School  teachers, 
who  wished  to  have  some  conversation  with  her 
father  on  the  subject  of  his  permitting  her  to  attend 
the  school. 

"  You  wretch  !"  he  exclaimed  to  his  child,  u  have 
I  not  forbid  your  going  to  such  places  V9 

He  then  called  for  the  rod  to  chastise  her.  I  felt 
that  I  was  in  a  delicate  position,  and  at  first  stood 
amazed  at  such  unnatural  cruelty.  I  remarked  that 
I  hoped  he  would  not  punish  the  child,  particularly 
as  on  this  occasion  I  had  been  the  cause  of  exciting 
his  anger. 

"  Your  little  daughter  is  kind,  Sir,  and  obedient,  is 
she  not?" 

"  Yes.     But  who  are  you  ?" 


820       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Jane  becomes  a  scholar. 


"  I  am  your  friend,  and  wish  to  have  a  little  con- 
versation with  you,  if  you  please." 

"  Well,  talk  on." 

**  I  hope  you  will  not  correct  your  child  on  account 
of  my  calling  to  see  you,  as  I  was  pleased  on  meeting 
her,  with  the  simplicity  of  her  conversation,  and 
thought  I  should  be  pleased  to  see  her  father." 

"  Sir,  I  will  take  your  advice :  Jane,  you  will  at- 
tend to  your  evening's  business." 

After  conversing  with  this  man  for  nearly  two 
hours  on  the  subject  of  Sabbath  Schools,  and  the 
propriety  of  his  sending  Jane,  he  partially  promised 
that  she  might  go.  "  What  say  you,  mother,  to  our 
Jane 's  going  to  the  Sunday  School  I"  The  mother 
refused  with  an  oath  !  My  heart  began  to  despair, 
for  I  thought  I  had  succeeded,  and  was  now  disap- 
pointed from  a  quarter  which  I  did  not  expect.  I 
continued  my  entreaties  for  a  short  time  to  no  purpose, 
and  promised  that  I  would  call  again. 

On  the  day  following  I  called  again,  and  after 
three  hours  of  painful  and  laborious  conversation, 
gained  the  consent  of  these  parents  that  Jane  might 
come  to  our  Sabbath  School. 

The  next  Sabbath,  with  gratitude  to  God,  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  introducing  Jane  into  the  Sabbath 
School.  After  supplying  her  with  books,  I  placed  her 
under  the  care  of  Miss  D ,  one  of  the  most  faith- 
ful teachers  in  our  school.  Jane  had  not  been  .long 
with  us,  before  it  was  plain  that  she  had  serious 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  321 

Her  account  of  her  own  feelings. 

thoughts  and  feelings ;  and  in  a  few  Sabbaths  after, 
her  countenance  indicated  that  a  change  too  pleasing 
and  too  visible  to  be  concealed,  had  taken  place. 

At  the  close  of  the  school  one  Sabbath,  Miss  D. 
requested  me  to  remain,  that  I  might  have  some  par- 
ticular conversation  with  Jane.  We  tarried  after  the 
school  was  closed,  and  I  turned  to  the  little  girl,  who 
said, — 

*  Oh,  Mr. ,  you  are  the  kindest  of  friends  in 

this  world :  you  have,  by  bringing  me  into  this  school, 
taught  me  how  to  worship  God.  Before  I  came  here 
I  used  to  feel  bad,  but  could  not  help  it.  Miss  D.  has 
told  me  that  sin  is  the  cause  of  all  our  bad  feelings, — 
that  we  are  all  sinners  in  the  sight  of  God.  I  have 
also  learned  in  this  school  that  we  must  pray  to  God 
that  he  would  forgive  us  our  sins.  Oh,  Sir,  a  few 
Sabbaths  since  I  felt  that  there  was  no  peace  to  my 
poor  soul,  and  saw,  that  if  I  should  then  die,  I 
must  go  to  hell  with  the  wicked.  On  leaving  the 
school,  I  resolved  to  pray  God  that  he  would  give  me 
a  heart  to  love  and  serve  him ;  a  heart  to  fear  and 
obey  my  parents ;  a  heart  to  love  everybody.  And, 
you  cannot  know  what  a  weight  my  sins  were  to  me : 
I  could  get  no  sleep  on  account  of  my  sins.  But  I 
have  longed  for  the  last  few  days  to  see  you.  I  have 
had  such  new  feelings, — my  load  is  removed, — I 
could  hardly  wait  for  the  Sabbath  to  come,  that  I 
might  tell  you  what  a  Savior  I  have  found.  I  trust 
I  have  given  myself  entirely  to  God.     I  feel  that 


322       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

The  father  becomes  sick  ; — effects  of  the  sickness 

there  is  something  in  my  heart  which  I  cannot  ex- 
press. O  how  thankful  to  God  I  am  for  your  care 
and  attention, — for  the  instructions  of  Miss  D., — for 
ever  coming  to  the  Sahbath  School ; — for  here  I  have 
found  the  Savior  who  loves  me,  and  who  hath  said  to 
me,  Seek  me  early, — seek  me  now,  and  you  shall  find 
me  !  Oh  !  will  you  pray  for  me, — pray  for  my  father, 
mother,  brothers,  and  sisters; — I  have  prayed  for 
them, — I  will  continue  to  pray  for  them.' 

This  account,  which  I  have  related  in  her  own 
language  as  nearly  as  possible,  was  almost  too  much 
for  me.  She  was  then  only  thirteen  years  of  age. 
She  was  not  only  happy  herself  now  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  religion,  but  it  was  her  heart's  desire  that 
all  her  father's  family  might  enjoy  the  same  religion. 
While  she  did  not  forget  to  pray  for  them,  she  often 
introduced  topics  in  conversation,  to  interest  them  in 
religion. 

From  continued  dissipation,  the  father  induced  a 
disease,  which  brought  him  near  the  gates  of  death. 
One  morning,  on  Jane's  visiting  him,  while  very  weak 
and  low,  he  asked  her  if  she  thought  he  would  get 
well?  She  replied,  with  tears,  that  she  hoped  he 
would, — '  but  if  it  is  God's  will,  dear  father,  that  you 
should  soon  die,  where  will  your  soul  be  when  you 
enter  upon  eternity  V  He  gazed  at  her  in  silence : 
she  then  asked  if  he  wished  to  have  the  good  Sab- 
bath School  teacher  call  to  see  him  ? — he  will  pray 
for  and  with  you.     He  then  said,  '  oh  !  my  child,  will 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  323 


The  result. 


you  pray  for  me  V  and  do  you  think  God  would  hear 
prayer  for  such  a  wicked  man  as  I  am  ?  The  weep- 
ing child  knelt  by  the  bed-side  of  her  sick  father,  and 
breathed  out  her  soul  to  God  in  prayer,  that  he  would 
pardon  her  dear  father's  sins,  and  prepare  him  for 
the  events  of  the  future.  The  unkind  father  was 
melted  into  contrition,  on  hearing  such  importunity  to 
God,  to  bestow  blessings  from  the  throne  of  his  grace 
upon  such  a  sinner  as  he  had  been.  The  old  man 
now  prayed, — felt  the  efficacy  of  prayer, — felt  that 
he  was  a  sinner  against  God, — yes,  the  aged  sinner 
prayed;  and  his  prayer,  we  believe,  was  heard. 
Under  God,  Jane  was  the  instrument  of  her  father's 
conversion.  God  in  mercy  restored  him  to  health,  a 
new  man, — an  humble  Christian.  On  his  recovery, 
he  was  soon  seen  in  the  Sabbath  School  which  he 
had  so  long  opposed,  where  he  then  confessed,  before 
teachers  and  scholars,  how  much  he  then  felt  on  ac- 
count of  his  past  conduct  to  the  school.  He  asked 
the  forgiveness  of  all. 

He  is  now  an  active  teacher,  in  the  fifty-eighth 
year  of  his  age,  in  the  Sabbath  School.  The  mother 
soon  became  serious,  her  brothers  and  one  sister  were 
also  anxious  for  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  and  to 
make  their  peace  with  God.  In  a  few  months  from 
the  time  that  Jane  entered  our  school,  she  came  for- 
ward with  her  father,  mother,  four  brothers,  and  a 
sister,  who  all  joined  the  church  of  God !  Thus  she 
was  instrumental,  in  one  short  summer,  in  the  con- 


?24       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Suggestions  by  the  narrative.  Sixth  reason,— ■prepares  pupils  for  blessedness. 

version  of  seven  immortal  souls,  and  all  of  her  own 
family.  Where  formerly  oaths  were  daily  heard,  now 
morning  and  evening  prayer  is  offered,  and  the  bless- 
ing of  God  supplicated  to  rest  upon  Sabbath  Schools, 
to  which,  through  the  goodness  of  God,  eight  undying 
souls  ascribe  their  conversion.' 

I  cannot  leave  this  beautiful  narrative  without  re- 
minding teachers  of  two  suggestions  which  arise  on 
reading  it.  One  is,  that  teachers  should  not  value  a 
little  time  when  necessary  to  meet  prejudice,  combat 
error,  or  persuade  obstinacy.  A  few  hours  of  faithful 
labor  may  save  a  whole  family.  The  other  sugges- 
tion is,  that  when  we  have  once  led  those  who  are 
opposed,  to  become  friends,  they  are  among  our 
warmest  friends,  and  labor  with  a  zeal  and  an  ear- 
nestness corresponding  to  their  previous  prejudices 
and  opposition. 

6.  The  faithful  teacher  will  be  the  means  of  pre- 
paring many  for  an  immortality  of  blessedness. 

A  beloved  member  of  my  church  once  came  to  me 
with  a  discouraged  heart.  She  had,  I  believe, 
twelve  young  ladies  in  her  class;  she  had  taught 
them,  she  had  prayed  for  them,  and  had  apparently 
done  all  for  them  that  she  could.  Not  one  was 
savingly  converted,  not  one  was  anxious,  or  even  se- 
rious ;  what  could  she  do  more  ?  I  recollect  saying 
what  little  I  could  to  encourage  her, — which  was  not 
much,  for  I  have  too  often  had  the  same  feelings  in 
regard  to  my  ministry,  not  to  be  aware  that  no  hu- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  325 

Illustration. 

man  sympathy  can  reach  the  case.  But  she  continued 
faithfully  to  instruct  them.  In  a  little  while  God 
poured  out  his  Spirit  upon  us,  and  that  teacher  has 
since  sat  down  at  the  table  of  Christ,  with  every  one 
of  that  class, — celebrating  the  love  that  redeemed 
them.  Who  would  not  prefer  the  rewards  which  a 
faithful  teacher  will  at  last  receive  from  the  great 
Redeemer,  to  all  the  honors  which  this  world  can 
bestow '?  To  lead  one  soul  to  the  Lamb  of  God, — to 
be  the  benefactor  of  one  immortal  mind,  will  cause 
you  to  shine  as  the  sun  in  the  firmament  forever  and 
ever.  But  the  faithful  teacher  will  do  more  than 
this ;  he  will  lead  several  to  the  waters  of  life,  and 
to  the  river  of  God. 

There  are  no  situations  in  which  the  teacher  may 
not,  and  should  not  labor  faithfully,  devotedly,  and 
prayerfully ;  for  there  are  none  in  which  his  labors 
will  not  do  good.  I  introduce  the  following  narrative 
to  illustrate  the  point,  that  a  single  teacher,  under 
the  most  unfavorable  circumstances,  may  be  a  worker 
together  with  God.  I  trust,  too,  that  the  reader  will 
think  as  I  do  on  this  point,  after  having  read  it.* 

*  Perhaps  this  narrative  may  have  met  the  eye  of  the  reader 
before.  It  has  frequently  been  published  as  the  production  of 
a  pen  in  England.  I  have  three  several  copies  now  before  me, 
each  ascribing  it  to  different  English  periodicals,  in  each  of 
which,  it  was  inserted  as  original.  The  author  begs  leave  to 
say,  that  the  facts  were  communicated  to  him  some  years 
28 


326  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


A  few  years  since,  a  man  and  his  wife  arrived  in 

the  town  of  M ,  N.  Y.,  as  permanent  residents. 

They  were  young,  lately  married,  and  their  prospects 
for  the  future  were  bright  and  cheering.  They  pur- 
chased a  farm  in  M ,  which  was  then  a  new 

country, — and  nad  happily  spent  two  or  three  years 
in  this  situation,  when,  by  a  mysterious  providence, 
the  young  man  was  called  from  this  world. — With 
his  surviving  widow,  he  left  two  lovely  twin  infants, 
to  deplore  a  loss  which  time  could  not  retrieve.  The 
widow  sought  comfort  in  vain  from  the  limited  circle 
of  her  acquaintance.  There  was  no  minister  of  the 
Gospel  in  that  region  to  direct  her  to  the  great  source 
of  comfort,  nor  was  there  a  pious  friend  who  could 
direct  her  trembling  footsteps  to  the  cross  of  Jesus. 
But  she  went  to  her  Bible,  and  by  the  assistance  of 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  found  that  consolation  which  a 
selfish  world  can  neither  bestow  nor  taste.  She 
mourned  indeed  a  husband  who  was  no  more,  but  she 
was  cheered  by  the  hope  that  God  would  protect  her 
and  hers.  She  wept  over  her  innocent  babes,  and 
resolved  that  while  she  lived,  they  should  never  need 
a  mother's  care.  As  they  grew  up,  she  endeavored 
to  teach  them  the  first  principles  of  religion,  but  they 
received  only  her  instructions.  One  week  after  an- 
other  rolled    away, —  one    Sabbath   aftei    another 

since,  while  on  a  journey  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  that 
it  first  came  from  his  pen. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER-  337 

Narrative  continued. 

dawned  upon  the  wilderness,  but  they  brought  none 
of  its  privilege.  The  wilderness  had  never  echoed 
with  the  sound  of  the  church-going  bell.  The  soli- 
tary places  had  never  been  gladdened  by  the  sound 
of  the  footsteps  of  him  who  proclaims  glad  tidings  of 
great  joy.  The  feeling  mother  clasped  her  little 
boys  to  her  aching  bosom,  and  sighed  and  wept  for 
the  opportunity  of  taking  them  by  the  hand,  and 
leading  them  up  to  the  courts  of  God.  In  the  days 
of  her  childhood  she  had  possessed  great  advantages, 
and  she  now  mourned  that  her  babes  could  only  re- 
ceive instruction  from  her  lips.  Alas !  no  man  of  God 
came  to  instruct, — to  cheer, — to  gladden  the  bosom 
of  her,  who,  for  years,  had  never  heard  the  whispers 
of  love  from  the  servants  of  her  Savior.  When  the 
little  boys  were  five  years  old,  and  before  they  were 
old  enough  to  be  sensible  of  their  loss,  a  consumption 
had  fastened  upon  their  tender  parent,  and  she  was 
soon  encircled  in  the  cold  arms  of  death.  She 
steadily  watched  the  certain  issue  of  her  disease,  and 
even  in  her  last  moments,  commended  her  children 
to  Him  who  is  "  a  Father  to  the  fatherless."  A  few 
moments  before  she  expired,  she  kissed  her  little  boys, 
who  wept,  almost  without  knowing  why,  on  feeling 
the  last  grasp  of  the  clay-cold  hand  of  their  mother. 
"  It  is  hard,"  said  she  to  a  neighbor  who  was  present, 
"it  is  hard  for  a  mother  to  leave  two  such  helpless 
babes  without  friends,  and  without  any  one  to  pro- 
tect them ;  but  I  leave  them  in  the  hands  of  God, 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Narrative  continued. 


and  I  do  believe  he  will  protect  them.  My  last 
prayer  shall  be  for  my  poor,  destitute  orphans." 

After  the  death  of  their  mother  they  were  received 
into  the  house  of  a  neighbor, — -a  poor  widow.  In  less 
than  a  year,  one  of  them  was  stretched  beside  his 
mother  beneath  the  sods. 

About  this  time  a  pious  young  lady  arrived  in  the 
place.  She  too  was  an  orphan,  but  was  not  comfort- 
less. It  was  her  first  inquiry  how  she  could  do  good 
to  the  spiritually  destitute  villagers  around  her. 

In  the  course  of  one  of  her  afternoon  walks,  she 
met  a  little  boy  straggling  by  the  side  of  the  road. 
There  was  a  something  in  his  countenance  which 
excited  interest  at  once,  though  he  was  exceedingly- 
ragged.  The  young  lady  was  struck  with  his  appear- 
ance, and  immediately  entered  into  conversation  with 
him. 

"What  is  your  name,  my  little  boy?"  said  she, 
gently. 

"  James." 

"  Where  do  you  live  ?" 

"With  widow  Parker,  just  in  the  edge  of  the 
wood,  there,  in  that  little  log-house;  can't  you  see  it?" 

"  I  see  it ;  but  is  widow  Parker  your  mother  ?" 

"  No :  I  had  a  mother  last  year,  and  she  loved  me. 
She  used  to  take  care  of  me  and  of  my  brother  John. 
She  made  our  clothes,  and  taught  us  to  say  our 
prayers  and  catechisms.  Oh !  she  was  a  most  good 
mother." 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  329 

Narrative  continued. 

"  But  where  is  your  mother  V*  said  the  lady,  as 
soothingly  as  possible. 

"  Oh,  madam,  she  is  dead !  Do  you  see  that  grave- 
yard yonder  ?" 

"  Yes"— 

"  And  the  great  maple-tree  which  stands  in  the 
further  corner  of  it  V1 

•«  Yes,  I  see  it" 

"  Well,  my  poor  mother  was  buried  under  that 
tree,  and  my  brother  John  lies  there  too.  They  were 
both  buried  deep  in  the  ground,  though  my  mother's 
grave  was  the  deepest  I  shall  never  see  them  again, 
never,  never,  as  long  as  I  live.  Will  you  go  with  me 
and  see  the  graves?"  continued  he,  looking  at  the 
lady  with  great  earnestness  and  simplicity. 

The  short  account  which  the  little  boy  gave  of 
himself  awakened  the  best  feelings  of  the  young  lady, 
and  she  had  been  devising  some  plan  by  which  to  do 
him  good.  For  the  present,  she  declined  visiting  the 
grave,  but  continued  to  converse  with  him,  and  to 
gain  his  confidence.  She  found  him  very  ignorant, 
having  never  been  at  school,  and  the  instructions  of 
his  pious  mother,  not  having  her  to  repeat  and  enforce 
them  by  precept  and  example,  were  nearly  forgotten. 

A  Sabbath  School  had  never  been  established  in 
the  place,  and  whether  it  was  practicable  to  establish 
one,  was  doubtful, — but  she  was  determined  to  make 
the  experiment  Accordingly,  she  visited  every  little 
cottage  in  the  village,  and  urged  that  the  children 
28* 


330       THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 


Narrative  continued. 


might  be  assembled  on  the  next  Lord's  day,  and  a 
school  formed.  A  proposal  of  this  kind  was  new,  was 
from  a  new-comer,  and  was  unpopular.  All  the  old 
women  in  the  place  entered  their  protest  against 
such  innovations.  For  the  first  three  Sabbaths,  the 
young  lady  had  no  other  scholar  besides  her  little 
James.  But  she  had  already  been  taught,  that  how- 
ever faint  our  prospects  of  doing  good  at  first  may 
be,  we  should  not  be  discouraged.  Our  labor  may 
not  be  lost,  though  the  first  blow  may  not  produce 
much  effect.  She  was  sorry  that  she  had  so  few 
scholars,  but  she  bent  all  her  energies  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  her  little  boy,  and  afterwards  felt  that  Provi- 
dence had  ordered  it  wisely. 

But  in  a  few  weeks  the  prejudices  of  the  people 
began  to  wear  away,  and  before  the  summer  closed, 
this  school  embraced  every  child  whose  age  would 
allow  it  to  attend. 

It  was  the  second  summer  after  the  establishment 
of  this  school,  and  after  little  James  had  become  well 
acquainted  with  his  Testament  and  catechism,  that 
his  health  also  began  to  fail.  This  good  young  lady 
beheld  his  gradual  decay  with  anxiety,  visited  him 
frequently,  and  always  wept  after  having  left  him. 
She  used  often  to  walk  out  with  him,  and  to  endeavor 
to  cheer  him  by  her  conversation. 

One  pleasant  afternoon  she  led  him  out  by  the 
hand,  and  at  his  request  visited  the  spot  where  lay 
his  mother  and  little  brother.     Their  graves  were 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.       331 


Narrative  continued. 


both  covered  with  grass,  and  on  the  smaller  grave 
were  some  beautiful  flowerets.  It  was  in  the  cool  of 
a  serene  summer's  day,  as  they  sat  by  the  graves  in 
silence  ;  neither  of  them  feeling  like  speaking.  The 
lady  gazed  at  the  pale  countenance  of  the  little  boy, 
upon  whose  system  a  lingering  disease  was  preying, 
while  he  looked  at  her  with  an  eye  that  seemed  to 
say,  *  I  have  not  long  to  enjoy  your  society.'  Without 
saying  a  word,  he  cut  a  small  stick,  and  measured  the 
exact  length  of  his  little  brother's  grave,  and  again 
seated  himself  by  the  lady.  She  appeared  sad  while 
he  calmly  addressed  her. 

"  You  see,  Miss  S ,  that  this  little  grave  is 

shorter  than  mine  will  be." 

She  pressed  his  little,  bony  hand  within  her  own, 
and  he  continued — 

"  You  know  not  how  much  I  love  you, — how  much 
I  thank  you.  Before  you  taught  me,  I  knew  nothing 
of  death, — nothing  about  heaven,  or  God,  or  angels, — 
I  was  a  very  wicked  boy  till  you  met  me.  I  love 
you  much,  very  much,  but  I  would  say — something 
else"— 

"  And  what  would  you  say,  James  ?"  inquired  the 
lady,  trying  to  compose  her  own  feelings. 

"  Do  you  think  I  shall  ever  get  well  1" 

"  Indeed  I  hope  you  will ;  but  why  ask  that  ques- 
tion V* 

"  Because  I  feel  I  shall  not  live  long, — I  believe  I 
shall  soon  die, — I  shall  then  be  laid  beside  my  poor 


&32  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.- 


Narrative  continued. 


mother, — and  she  will  then  have  her  two  little  boys, 
— one  on  each  side  of  her.  But  do  not  cry,  Miss  S., 
I  am  not  afraid  to  die.  You  told  me,  and  the  Testa- 
ment tells  me,  that  Christ  will  suffer  little  children  to 
come  unto  him,  and  though  I  know  I  am  a  very  sin- 
ful little  boy,  yet  I  think  I  shall  be  happy,  for  I  love 
this  Savior  who  can  save  such  a  wicked  boy  as  I  am. 
And  I  sometimes  think  I  shall  soon  meet  mother  and 
little  brother  in  happiness.  I  know  you  will  come 
too,  won't  you  1  When  I  am  dead  I  wish  you  to  tell 
the  Sabbath  scholars  how  much  I  loved  them  all, — 
tell  them  they  must  all  die,  and  may  die  soon,  and 
tell  them  to  come  and  measure  the  grave  of  little 
James ;  and  then  prepare  to  die." 

The  young  lady  wept,  and  could  not  answer  him 
at  that  time.  But  she  was  enabled  to  converse- with 
him  many  times  afterwards  on  the  grounds  of  his 
hope,  and  was  satisfied  that  this  little  lamb  was  in- 
deed of  the  fold  of  Jesus.  She  was  sitting  at  his 
bed-side,  and  with  her  own  trembling  hand,  closed 
his  lovely  eyes  as  they  shut  in  the  slumbers  of  death. 
He  fell  asleep  with  a  smile, — without  a  struggle. 
The  lady  was  the  only  sincere  mourner  who  followed 
the  remains  of  the  child  to  the  grave,  and  while  she 
shed  many  tears  over  that  grave,  which  concealed 
his  lovely  form,  she  could  not  but  rejoice  in  the  be- 
lief that  God  had  permitted  her  to  be  the  feeble  in- 
strument of  preparing  an  immortal  spirit  for  a  man- 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  333 

Seventh  reason,— will  add  to  the  eternal  happiness  of  the  teacher. 

sion  in  the  skies,  where  the  wicked  cease  from 
troubling,  and  where  the  weary  are  at  rest. 

7.  Once  more, — the  teacher  is  urged  to  faithfulness, 
because  it  will  add  to  his  own  eternal  blessedness. 

The  death-beds  of  many  of  the  most  active  and 
devoted  servants  of  Jesus  Christ  within  a  few  years 
have  proved  to  us,  that  the  spirit  and  the  consolations 
of  the  Apostolic  times  have  come  down  to  us.  The 
days  of  martyrdom,  for  the  present,  have  gone  by;  but 
the  labors  of  martyrs,  and  the  dying  triumphs  of 
martyrs  are  still  left  A  host  of  bright  stars  have 
set  upon  this  land  within  a  few  years, — and  they 
went  down  growing  brighter  as  they  set.  The  light 
of  eternity  came  through  the  gloom  of  the  grave,  and 
threw  glories  even  into  the  dominions  of  death.  The 
song  of  angels  was  heard  even  here,  and  the  tongue 
began  to  unite  in  these  songs  before  it  became  silent. 
These  men  have  gone  to  their  rest.  In  their  lives 
and  deaths,  God  has  seemed  to  say  that  he  will 
honor  those  who  honor  him.  But  the  work  of  con- 
verting the  world  to  God,  is  yet  to  be  done.  One 
agent  and  another  is  raised  up,  and  then  removed, 
and  yet  the  plans  of  the  Infinite  One  still  move 
onward.  They  will  go  on,  let  men  be  faithful  or 
otherwise. 

Teacher !  your  day  will  soon  be  over.  The  night 
cometh,  in  which  no  man  can  work.  You  will  soon 
be  called  away  to  pass  beyond  the  shores  of  time ; 
that  which  will  then  press  your  conscience  will  be, — 


334  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Future  meetings  with  scholars. 

not  how  much  of  this  world  you  have  gotten  in  any 
shape, — but  how  much  have  you  been  a  co-worker 
with  God !  If  faithful  in  your  sphere,  however  hum- 
ble, you  will  be  acknowledged  as  a  co-worker.  You 
will  go  into  eternity  conscious  that  you  have  served 
Jesus  Christ,  and  that  you  have  been  laboring  to 
bring  souls  to  his  cross.  He  will  welcome  you,  he 
will  crown  you,  he  will  own  you  as  his  dear  friend 
in  the  day  when  he  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  the 
Father. 

On  the  hill  of  Zion  above,  you  will,  too,  see  a  glo- 
rious sight.  That  bright  one  who  shall  accompany 
'your  wearied  spirit  even  from  the  bed  of  death,  who 
shall  lead  you  up  to  the  regions  of  everlasting  blessed- 
ness, may  be  the  redeemed  spirit  of  that  dear  scholar 
whom  you  taught  in  the  school,  whose  soul  you  led  to 
Jesus,  and  whose  body  you  followed  to  the  grave. 
You  had  almost  forgotten  his  name, — but  you  had 
not  been  forgotten ;  and  he  was  the  sweet  messenger 
sent  down  to  guide  your  soul  from  earth  to  heaven. 
As  you  see  that  glorious  spirit,  as  you  hear  his  song 
of  redeeming  love,  will  you  ever  regret  your  labors, 
prayers,  tears  1  And  when  your  feet  have  become 
familiar  with  the  golden  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem, 
you  may  hereafter  hail  one  and  another  whom  you 
instructed  in  the  Sabbath  School,  but  whom  you  left 
on  the  earth  completing  their  day  of  probation. 
They  will  come,  and  with  you,  forever  become 
learners  in   that   glorious   school   of  Christ   above. 


THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER.  335 

The  author's  motives  in  writing. 

There  will  be  gathered,  converts,  a  great  mul- 
titude, ministers  who  have  been  most  faithful  and 
laborious  and  successful,  and  churches  who  have 
been  lights  in  the  world,  all  of  which  may  be  traced 
back  to  the  little  class  which  you  once  taught ;  and  to 
ages  untold,  you  will  see  the  results  of  your  labors 
here  on  earth. 

Reader  !  before  rising  from  my  chair,  I  expect  to 
write  the  last  paragraph  of  this  book, — a  book  which 
has  cost  me  much  labor,  many  fears,  and  much  deep 
anxiety.  A  book  may  be  written  for  reputation, 
for  pecuniary  profit,  or  to  gratify  earthly  feelings.  I 
do  believe  I  have  not  been  led  to  write  from  either 
of  these  motives.  If  motives  as  pure  as  our  sinful 
hearts  will  permit  us  to  feel,  could  secure  me  from 
having  said  what  would  make  bad  impressions,  or 
lead  to  any  other  than  good  results,  I  should  lay 
down  my  pen  with  more  satisfaction  than  I  now  do. 
If  in  any  remarks  I  have  exhibited  any  other  than 
the  kindest  feelings,  I  beg  my  reader  to  believe  that 
it  was  wholly  unintentional.  I  have  not  felt  any 
other.  In  very  many  cases  the  reader  will  doubtless 
dissent  from  what  I  say.  Let  him  do  so,  feeling  that 
his  experience  may  have  been  different  from  my  own, 
or  that  I  have  been  laying  down  general  rules,  while 
his  was  an  exception.  I  have  been  on  ground  new, 
and  to  a  great  degree,  unexplored ;  and  if  the  reader 
feels  that  he  discovers  great  deficiencies,  or  great  de- 


336  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHER. 

Conclusion. 

fects,  he  will  remember  that  I  have  had  great  diffi- 
culties to  encounter. 

Many  unknown  friends  will  read  these  pages, 
upon  whom  this  will  be  the  first  and  the  last  im- 
pression which  I  can  ever  make.  May  I  not  hope 
that  they  will  at  least  gather  one  hint,  and  one  im- 
pression from  this  little  volume  which  will  quicken 
them  in  duty,  make  them  more  devoted  to  their 
work,  more  laborious  and  more  faithful  in  their  Mas- 
ter's service  I 

The  writer  and  the  reader  are  both  passing  to  the 
grave.  The  providence  of  God  which-  has  brought 
their  minds  into  contact  by  means  of  these  pages, 
lays  them  both  under  new  and  heavier  responsibilities 
to  be  devoted  to  the  salvation  of  men.  Those  of  the 
reader  cannot  be  small :  those  of  the  writer  immeasur- 
ably great.  May  we  sow  beside  all  waters ;  in  the 
morning  scattering  the  seed  upon  the  earth  fresh  with 
the  dews  of  heaven,  in  the  evening  withholding  not 
the  hand, — for  we  know  not  whether  the  one  or  the 
other  shall  prosper.  And  when  the  toils  and  anxieties 
of  this  life  shall  be  over,  may  we  rejoice  together 
with  the  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  who  with- 
out ceasing  day  or  night,  praise  God  and  the  Lamb 
forever  and  ever ! 


THE    END. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

BERKELEY 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 

STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
50c  r>er  volume  after  the  third  day  overdue,   increasing 
to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.     Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 

JUL  29  1926 

fc    V*^M   ■*»,»      l^J        km^itJ 

2  7'64-8PM 

4? 

0EC231976    4 

t 

Jgkm     M217T 

5   De'5?KC      ' 

SEP  2  1 1979 

REC'D  t-D 

.«   9  *79 

j   '  \  \9&1  .** 

BB.    J* 

1OJun,64M0j 

*0V    4  t98t 

0£C  I  7  198, 

- 

50m-7,'16 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


